An influential Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in the Nadia district of West Bengal has come under the scanner for exploitation of women and creating a Sandeshkhali-like atmosphere.
According to a report by Calcutta News, the perpetrator was identified as TMC leader Pradip Sarkar. The villagers have accused him of harassing them at their house during the daytime.
“He enters our homes, clicks pictures and spreads them around. He also warns us about releasing the images on the internet. If we object, then, he threatens to murder our husbands,” a woman said.
Another woman recounted, “We are in a state of terror. ” According to the villagers, the police and the district administration have been working in cahoots with the accused Trinamool Congress leader
“He (Pradip Sarkar) openly tells us that the thana (police station) and court are in his pockets and that our complaints will have no bearing on him,” one woman lamented. A local resident Sahdeb Das said, “Nothing has been done against the accused so far.”
While speaking about the matter, BJP leader named Rohit Jan informed, “The problem has been going on for the past 4 years.” The development is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by TMC goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides Uttam Sardar and Shibu Prasad Hazra in Sndeshkhali village.
On Sunday (21st April), BJP MP (Ranaghat constituency) Jagannath Sarkar met the women villagers and listened to their grievances. “This (harassment of women) is being done at the behest of Mamata Banerjee. So I demand her removal from office,” he emphasised.
Turmoil in Sandeshkhali
The unrest in Sandeshkhali village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal brought into focus the atrocities committed against women by former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides Shibu Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
Multiple women have come forward to narrate instances of land grabbing, and sexual violence perpetrated against them by the trio. Forced by circumstances, they took matters into their own hands and gheraoed the police station.
The agitation led by women eventually led to the arrest of the 3 TMC goons. OpIndia had previously reported how the Trinamool Congress, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have left no stone unturned to trivialise the sexual violence committed against women in Sandeshkhali.
Besides Mamata Banerjee, TMC MLA Udayan Guha also attempted to downplay the sexual exploitation of women in Sandeshkhali as ‘eating pie (Pitha khaowa)’ and ‘mischief (Dushtami)’ on 29th February.
TMC spokesperson Jui Biswas also sought to deny sexual violence in Sandeshkhali by demanding ‘video footage of rapes’ as proof. Journalist’ Sagarika Ghose, who was recently rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat by the TMC, also trivialised the raging unrest in Sandeshkhali village as a ‘local land dispute.’
TMC Minister Partha Bhowmick had earlier tried to dismiss accusations of sexual violence by women of Sandeshkhali village as ‘fake.’ On 10th March, the actress turned TMC candidate from Hooghly, Rachna Banerjee, was seen casting aspersions on the sexual violence faced by women in Sandeshkhali.
Last month, a video of Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool Congress MLA Firham Hakim doing whataboutery on the plight of women of Sandeshkhali village had surfaced on social media. While mocking the ordeal of women, he said, “Now, you know that one ‘khali’ is grabbing all headlines. What ‘Khali’? Ah, Sandeshkhali. It is everywhere.”
