In a scathing attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reported a new rape case in Malda district amidst the controversy surrounding the alleged horrifying incidents in Sandeshkhali.
“Be it Sandeshkhali or Malda, no woman is safe in Bengal. In another case of brutal rape and murder, a ninth-grade student and Tribal was found lifeless with her face smashed in a brick kiln in Bhabuk village of Old Malda Assembly,” Poonawalla claimed in a post on X. He further claimed instances of similar incidents in other districts while alleging that the ‘rapists are being protected.’
“This is not the first such case in Malda. Recently, the half-naked body of a 25-year-old was found after rape and murder,” the BJP leader mentioned in the post. “Many such instances are taking place in Bengal, but Shahjahan and rapists are being protected and patronized, and those who speak up against it are arrested! This is TALIBANI MANSIKTA AND CULTURE (TMC),” the post added.
In the meantime, a delegation from TMC has reached Sandeshkhali to interact with the local residents. Speaking to the media, TMC leader and West Bengal minister Sujit Bose said, “We have come here to take stock of the situation. Some work is ongoing in connection with an incident of arson. We are here to oversee it and will brief you more after the visit.”
Earlier in the day, CPI(M) leader Minakshi Mukherjee met with the victims at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas. Later, she claimed that the police prevented her from moving to other parts of the district where similar complaints to those in Sandeshkhali have also emerged.
Turbulence in Sandeshkhali has become a prominent point of discussion these days. Women are demanding justice for the alleged atrocities, including sexual assault, perpetrated by TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land-grab and sexually assaulting” them under coercion. Shahjahan remains at large, eluding arrest, as both state police and central agencies have been unable to locate him.
Following the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team arrived in Sandeshkhali to lead an investigation and go into details of the violence in the North 24 Parganas islands and meet the victims.
The Commission has noted that the recent events in Sandeshkhali, as reported in numerous print and electronic media outlets, suggest a clear violation of human rights, which is deeply troubling.
Furthermore, the NHRC issued a notice to the Director General of Police (DGP), instructing him to provide a report within two weeks regarding the detention of a journalist from a news channel by the police in Sandeshkhali. Additionally, the Commission tasked its Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Investigation to gather information by telephone and submit their findings to the Commission within one week.