There has been an atmosphere of fear and coercion in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali ever since several local women have come out and spoken against the atrocities meted out to them by TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his goons.
The Sandeshkhali controversy has developed into a political blame game over the course of the last few months. While the BJP has presented numerous first-hand accounts of victims, the TMC has continued to claim that the BJP is actively manipulating the controversy to malign West Bengal before the Lok Sabha elections.
On Thursday, May 16, the BJP state unit released a new video clip in which a Sandeshkhali victim describes, firsthand, the coercive tactics used by TMC goons to defuse the Sandeshkhali controversy, centred around TMC officials.
Anwesha Mondal, a woman the BJP claims has been at the forefront of speaking out against the alleged widespread sexual exploitation of young married Hindu women in Sandeshkhali by TMC goons, is heard recounting her kidnapping and assault by TMC goons in the 1.01-minute video clip. She attests that the TMC goons threatened to kill her if she did not testify in support of the TMC officials who were being held accountable in the Sandeshkhali case. She was asked to testify in court that all allegations made against Trinamool Congress (TMC) members in the Sandeshkhali case are false and baseless. She was asked by the TMC goons to speak out in favour of TMC leader Dilip Malik.
Anwesha Mondal is heard stating that she heard her name being called and she came out to see who was calling out to her. This is when, some TMC goons accosted her, gagged her mouth and took her away. The goons forced her into the pond while tying her hands and legs. The TMC goons threatened to kill her if she disobeyed their commands while she lay there defenceless. Her daughter suddenly began to call out for her. When Anwesha Mondal’s daughter cried out for her mother, their neighbours began looking for her. Seeing locals approaching, the TMC goons ran away.
The West Bengal BJP unit shared the clip with the caption, “Sandeshkhali bleeds as TMC’s iron fist tightens! Anwesha Mondal, a fearless voice against sexual violence, narrowly escapes a gruesome abduction. Priyanka Tibrewal’s visit ignites TMC’s wrath, exposing their vicious grip on power. Led by Dilip Malik, TMC thugs tried to silence dissent by drowning Anwesha. Their coercive tactics reveal a regime hell-bent on oppression. Sandeshkhali cries out for justice! TMC’s reign of terror must end!”
Sandeshkhali bleeds as TMC's iron fist tightens! Anwesha Mondal, a fearless voice against sexual violence, narrowly escapes a gruesome abduction.
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) May 16, 2024
Priyanka Tibrewal's visit ignites TMC's wrath, exposing their vicious grip on power.
Led by Dilip Malik, TMC thugs tried to… pic.twitter.com/h08Topt3cN
Notably, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, who visited the Sandeshkhali victims, also shared the same clip with a similar claim.
Today I visited Sandeshkhali, where TMC goons, are threatening the people to prove Sk. Shahjahan is innocent. One woman named Anwesha Mondal, told me about the atrocities of Dilip Mallickw who few days ago abducted a woman,
— Priyanka Tibrewal (मोदी का परिवार) (@impriyankabjp) May 15, 2024
Following this complaint, today evening, TMC goons… pic.twitter.com/5I69yekMku
“Today I visited Sandeshkhali, where TMC goons, are threatening the people to prove Sk. Shahjahan is innocent. One woman named Anwesha Mondal, told me about the atrocities of Dilip Mallickw who few days ago abducted a woman, Following this complaint, today evening, TMC goons abducted her threw her tied beside a pond and left her to die. WE took her to the Police Station,” the BJP leader wrote.
Reportedly, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Advocate Priyanka Tibrewal visited Sandeshkhali on May 15, Wednesday. Anwesha Mondal had spoken to the BJP leader about the victimisation of Hindu women at the hands of TMC leader Dilip Malik. The BJP leader, in turn, went with Anwesha Mondal to the police station to file a complaint against Malik. It was reportedly after she filed a police complaint, that the TMC leader’s aides kidnapped her and threatened her to testify in favour of Dilip Malik and other TMC leaders accused in the rape and land grab allegation in Sandeshkhali.
