Fresh tension in Sandeshkhali after locals torch Shahjahan brother's asset
Times of India | 23 February 2024
SANDESHKHALI/KOLKATA: Fresh prohibitory orders were clamped on Thursday in five gram panchayats of trouble-hit Sandeshkhali in Bengal's North 24 Parganas district after locals torched a bamboo structure set up to oversee fishing at a bheri (pond) allegedly controlled by Sheikh Sirajuddin Akhtar, brother of fugitive Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.
Sandeshkhali has been witnessing protests and retaliatory attacks since Feb 7 against associates of Shahjahan, who has evaded authorities since Jan 5 when a mob attacked and wounded three ED officers during a search operation at his home as part of an investigation into an alleged Rs 550 crore ration scam. The associates have been accused of grabbing land and misbehaving with women.
Villagers accused Siraj of forcibly grabbing the six-bigha bheri and converting farmlands into fish ponds. The arson led to agitation by hundreds of women demanding the arrest of the two brothers. Trouble ensued after Siraj and his associates threatened local women, prompting villagers to chase them out and subsequently set the bamboo structure ablaze.
Senior district officials deployed adequate personnel in the affected areas and extended the prohibitory orders until Feb 24. As DIG Bhaskar Mukherjee and SP Hossain Mehedi Rehman arrived at the scene, women voiced concerns about Siraj's alleged atrocities, including torture of village youths. DIG Mukherjee assured protection.
A village ground allegedly sealed by Shahjahan Fan Club for years, was thrown open to locals by police Thursday morning.
A National Commission for Scheduled Tribes team, visited Sandeshkhali and received 23 complaints on land grabbing and torture.
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