Fresh protests erupted in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali on Friday, leading to the detention of BJP MP Locket Chatterjee. Chatterjee was detained following a dispute with police officers over the prevention of her party’s women’s delegation from entering the area affected by the unrest.
#WATCH | West Bengal | BJP MP and State General Secretary Locket Chatterjee and Police officer enter into a verbal altercation.
BJP women’s delegation was stopped by state Police as they headed towards Sandeshkhali. pic.twitter.com/WL4rDU5Ude
— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2024
Simultaneously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned absconding TMC zilla parishad member Shahjahan Sheikh for the fourth time regarding the ration distribution ‘scam’. Accused of mistreating women and seizing land from Sandeshkhali locals alongside his associates, Shahjahan was directed to appear before the ED on February 29.
Shahjahan has ignored three previous ED summons. Last month, the agency conducted two separate raids at various locations, including Shahjahan’s residence in Sandeshkhali, in connection with the case.
On January 5, a group of over a hundred villagers in North 24 Parganas’ Sandeshkhali attacked a team of ED officials who were raiding Sheikh’s residence as part of their investigation into the ration ‘scam’. Three ED officers sustained injuries in the assault. Sheikh, a prominent figure in the TMC, has been evading authorities since the incident.
The NHRC issued a notice to the state government and police chief concerning the ongoing violence and human rights abuses in the area.
Angry locals set fire to properties owned by TMC leaders accused of harassing villagers in Sandeshkhali on Thursday.
Additionally, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes gathered numerous complaints of forced land seizures and abuse from the region.
Many women in Sandeshkhali, located in the North 24 Parganas district, accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land-grabbing and sexual assault” under duress.
Shajahan has been on the run since a mob, purportedly associated with him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who were searching his premises in connection with a ration scam on January 5.
