How a ruling party leader unleashed violence and oppression on the people of Bengal, especially women, and evaded justice for years.
Our Correspondent
Sandeshkhali, A remote area in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing a reign of terror and tyranny for the last few years. The main culprit behind this is Sheikh Shajahan, a local leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, who has been accused of various crimes such as land grabbing, extortion, assault, rape, and murder.
Sheikh Shajahan came into the limelight in February 2024, when he and his goons attacked a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers who had come to raid his properties in connection with a money laundering case. The ED officers were brutally beaten with stones and sticks, and many of them were badly injured in the attack. Sheikh Shajahan managed to escape from the spot and has been absconding ever since, despite several raids by the West Bengal police and a warrant issued by the Kolkata High Court.
However, this was not the first time that Sheikh Shajahan had shown his muscle power and lawlessness. According to the locals, he had been terrorizing the people of Sandeshkhali for a long time, especially the women. He had allegedly encroached on the land of the locals to set up his own businesses, such as brick kilns, fish farms, and sand mines. He had also reportedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted many women from the area, and threatened their families with dire consequences if they dared to complain to the police. The police, on the other hand, were allegedly hand in glove with him and refused to register any FIRs against him. The victims had no choice but to suffer in silence or flee from their homes.
The situation reached a boiling point in March 2024, when hundreds of women from Sandeshkhali staged a massive agitation, demanding the arrest of Sheikh Shajahan and justice for his crimes. They blocked the roads, staged sit-ins, and raised slogans against the TMC government and the police. They also narrated their horrific experiences of abuse and violence at the hands of Sheikh Shajahan and his men. They said that they had lost their faith in the administration and the judiciary, and appealed to the central government and the media to intervene and help them.
The agitation caught the attention of the West Bengal Women’s Commission, which sent its chairperson to visit the area and meet the protesters. She asked for a report from the local police station, but the protesters alleged that it was a mere eyewash and that nothing would change on the ground. They also questioned the role of the state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, who is a woman herself and claims to champion the cause of women’s empowerment. They asked why she had remained silent on the issue and why she had not taken any action against Sheikh Shajahan, who is one of her party’s leaders.
The Sandeshkhali case is a glaring example of how the law and order situation in West Bengal has deteriorated under the TMC regime, and how the common people, especially the women, have become the victims of political violence and oppression. It also exposes the hypocrisy and double standards of the TMC, which claims to be a secular and progressive party, but has allowed a communal and regressive leader like Sheikh Shajahan to flourish and flourish. It is high time that the central government and the Supreme Court take cognizance of the matter and ensure that Sheikh Shajahan is brought to justice and that the people of Sandeshkhali get their due rights and dignity.
