Properties of leaders torched: TMC faces ire at Sandeskhali in North 24-Parganas
Telegraph | 11 February 2024
A large number of villagers, mostly tribals, continued to vent their ire against a few ruling party leaders for the third consecutive day by torching at least three poultry farms and the farmhouse of Trinamul block president and zila parishad member Shibaprasad Hazra at Sandeskhali in North 24-Parganas on Friday.
The protesting villagers, a large number of them women, armed with sticks, bamboos and kitchen knives have been demanding the arrest of absconding Trinamul leaders Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides Uttam Sardar and Hazra whom they accused of grabbing their land and other atrocities.
Sandeshkhali has become a boiling point since January 5 when the close aides of Shahjahan attacked a team of ED officials when they went to conduct a raid on the Trinamul leader's house in connection with the ration distribution scam.
The large number of villagers, who have been at the receiving end of alleged atrocities perpetrated by Shahjahan and his accomplices, erupted on Wednesday when the local Trinamul with the help of outsiders tried to take out a rally condemning the ED raid a month ago. They chased the Trinamul leaders and workers who jumped onto a boat and into the river to save their lives.
Violence continued on Thursday as hundreds of men and women, mostly belonging to the tribal community, attacked zila parishad member Sardar, set ablaze his poultry farm and assaulted several Trinamul workers before forcing them to flee.
Similar violence erupted on Friday when violent demonstrators set ablaze three poultry farms and a farmhouse of Hazra as "retaliation to his criminality on villagers".
As women took the lead in the protests that have taken over Sandeshkhali over the past few days, the police largely remained mute protesters as in most cases they were outnumbered. The villagers also aired their anger on the police and accused them of patronising the "Trinamul goons" for the past several years and not acting on their complaints.
"Criminals like Hazra and Sardar with Shahjahan's support have been unleashing terror on us for several years. Using their political clout, we have been tortured physically, mentally, and financially for the past several years. They have robbed our land, grabbed our fisheries, assaulted our men, outraged the modesty of many women, and forced our children to walk in Trinamul rallies. We have lost our patience and decided to fight back for existence," said Amita Mondal, a woman who has been taking part in the agitation for the last three days in Sandeshkhali.
"We all are Trinamul supporters, but the party never protected us from the torture of these leaders. If we did not heed their diktats, these leaders used to cut-off the water supply forcing us to drink untreated water from the river and ponds," she added.
However, armed aides of the three leaders tried to hit back at the protesters on Friday. The retaliatory attack in the afternoon left at least 10 villagers, including five women, injured at Jeliakhali in Sandeshkhali. The attack prompted senior police officials to rush to the area but they ran into protests from villagers who accused the cops of "patronising the armed goons of the Trinamul leaders".
Though the situation remains tense and villagers vouched to return to protest on Saturday, ADG (law and order) Manoj Kumar Verma said the situation was "under control".