Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha protests 'torture' of women by Trinamul Congress leaders
Telegraph | 12 February 2024
Activists of BJP Mahila Morcha in West Bengal on Sunday staged protests in front of various police stations in the northern part of the city, alleging harassment and torture of women by TMC leaders in Sandeshkhali.
Women workers of the saffron party first demonstrated in front of the office of the deputy commissioner (north) in Amherst Street, and then at Shyampukur Police Station.
The protestors alleged that local Trinamul Congress leaders of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district had been harassing and torturing women in the area for long.
Women in Sandeshkhali also held protests in the last few days, alleging that local TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his "gang" captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing them.
They demanded the arrest of Shajahan who has been absconding since last month after a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that went to raid his house in an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob.
Meanwhile, the police arrested Uttam Sardar, a Trinamul Congress leader in Sandeshkhali, shortly after he was suspended from the party on Saturday.
Governor CV Ananda Bose had on Saturday said that the present situation in Sandeshkhali is the "worst that could happen in a civilised society" and called upon the state government to take effective action.
He sought a report from the state government.
His assertion came hours after the BJP demanded his intervention in the violent protests that rocked Sandeshkhali, where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped on Saturday.
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