Over 1,050 complaints from Sandeshkhali since HC’s April order, says CBI

In April, the Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to probe the complaints of land grab and sexual harassment in Sandeshkhali. Thereafter, the probe agency created a dedicated email id where people from Sandeshkhali could send their complaints and grievances. However, the probe agency decided to set up a camp in Sandeshkhali as many people were unable to access the internet, officials said.

Sources in the CBI said that since the High Court order, the agency has received around 1,050 complaints of land theft, intimidation, assaults and sexual assault on women. “Around 1,050 complaints have been received (since the Calcutta HC order), including those sent via emails. We are verifying the allegations and taking legal action after confirming the facts. Some complaints are of recent incidents, others about incidents as old as five years ago,” said a CBI source.

The development comes days after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) accusing Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders of “fabricating rape allegations” against its leaders in Sandeshkhali. The BJP, on the other hand, has claimed that women in Sandeshkhali are “being forced to withdraw their rape complaints”.

Sandeshkhali — situated on the borders of the Sundarbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata — had been on the boil in February with protests over allegations of sexual abuse and land grab against now arrested TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters.

ED attaches Rs 14-crore assets of Shahjahan Sheikh, others

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday issued a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) involving movable and immovable properties of TMC leaders Shahjahan Sheikh, Shibu Prasad Hazra and other individuals, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The assets are estimated to be worth around Rs 14.28 crore, the agency added. In a statement, the agency claimed that the PAO involved “movable /immovable assets of Shahjahan Sheikh, Alomgir Sheikh, Abdul Alim Molla, Shibu Prasad Hazra and others”.

The assets include movable properties worth Rs 3.78 Crore and 55 immovable properties to the tune of Rs. 10.50 crore, the agency said. “The ED initiated investigation on the basis of 13 FIRs registered by West Bengal Police against Shahjahan Sheikh and others on the allegations that they have created an atmosphere of terror by indulging in organised crime of giving threats of injury, murder, attempt to murder, extortion etc. and also grabbed land of general public,” it added.