What Led To Sandeshkhali Violence In Bengal & What Are The Allegations Against TMC Leader Shahjahan Sheikh?

For over a week, Bengal has been witnessing protests by women and the BJP leaders over allegations of sexual harassment of village women and illegal land grabbing by local Trinamool Congress leaders.

To maintain the law and order issue, the police have imposed Fresh prohibitory orders in some pockets of Sandeshkhali as some villages boil. "Prohibitory orders have been imposed in 19 pockets of seven villages of Sandeshkhali block-II since Tuesday night till February 19. The situation would be reviewed," said a senior IPS officer.

Sandeshkhali is located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Situated in the Sunderbans, it is an island that lies near the border of Bangladesh and can only be reached by boat.

What is the issue all about?

Several women in the region have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion.

"The party [Trinamool] men would come and survey a home that has a beautiful wife, whose girl is young. Then they take the women to the party office. Nights after night, they would be kept there... till they were satisfied," a woman and alleged victim is heard saying in a viral video.

Interestingly, this is the same Sheikh Shahjahan who is currently on the run after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attempted to conduct a raid on his premises.

"Sheikh Shahjahan and his gang established a 'reign of terror' where the dignity and modesty of women belonging to the SC & ST Communities have been repeatedly violated. They forcefully captured swathes of land belonging to the Janjatiyas & Tribals," Suvendu Adhikari, BJP's leader of opposition in West Bengal and Nandigram MLA, said on X.

In the Sunderbans, poverty reigns supreme and the anti-social elements have unchecked influence, according to a report in India Today.

"They mistreat us, the women here cannot live in safety. We women fear going out. We want safety. My husband, who runs a bank CSP (micropayment kiosks in villages), had hinted earlier that the leaders were eyeing all the money. He usually tells me that he might not live long" India Today quoted Sandeshkhali local Kanika Das as saying.

"They used to take the women to the party (TMC) office and let them off in the morning," said another woman in the viral video.

The women took courage to speak only after Sheikh Shahjahan absconded last month.

Calcutta High Court's Intervention

On February 13, the Calcutta High Court took suo moto cognisance of the incident and directed the TMC government to submit a report by February 20 over the allegations made by the women.

BJP Forms Six-Member Committee

BJP president J P Nadda has constituted a six-member committee of party MPs, five of them being women, who will on Friday visit Sandeshkhali. Union ministers Pratima Bhoumik, Annapurna Devi, who is the committee's convener, Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav and Brij Lal, a former Uttar Pradesh DGP, are part of the committee, a statement from the BJP said.

TMC's Reaction

Responding to the allegations, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 17 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

She said, "I have never supported injustice. I sent the state commission and administration there. 17 people have been arrested so far...Our women's team is present there. A women police team is visiting people at their doorsteps to listen to their grievances. We will definitely address the issues that will be reported. I need to know the matter to act on it. RSS has a base there. Riots took place there 7-8 years back. It is one of the vulnerable riot spots. We handled the situation strongly during Saraswati Puja or else there were other plans..."

Another minister Chandrima Bhattacharya denied the allegations and accused the BJP of trying to "polarise people".

"Rape has no religion. Crimes against women have no religion. Union Minister Smriti Irani held a press conference on Sandeshkhali with the sole intention of polarising the masses and pitting communities against each other. Do you want to ignite a communal riot in Bengal," said Chandrima Bhattacharya, Trinamool leader and West Bengal minister.