Reeling from Sandeshkhali unrest, TMC moves to control damage as BJP, CPI(M) turn up heat

Since then, the ED, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state police have failed to arrest Shahjahan, who is still on the run.

A month after Shahjahan absconded, on February 8, women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets with brooms and sticks, demanding the immediate arrest of the former and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.

The next day, the protesters attacked properties belonging to Hazra and set fire to his poultry farm. Locals said the poultry farm was set up on a plot of land the TMC leader had allegedly usurped.

Local women also alleged that Shahjahan and his aides had assaulted and exploited them for years. On Saturday, the police imposed Section 144 in various areas of Sandeshkhali and an internet shutdown in 16 panchayats.

In a bid to pacify angry villagers in Sandeshkhali, the TMC leadership suspended Uttam Sardar from the party, though the party said it did not find any allegations against Hazra. In a move that was criticised by the Opposition, Sardar was arrested only after his suspension.

The police also arrested Nirapada Sardar, a former CPI(M) MLA from Sandeshkhali, and local BJP leader Vikas Singh over the local women’s allegations on Sunday. While family members of the former CPI(M) MLA said his arrest was made without any prior notice, Singh’s relatives claimed he was innocent.

Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee broke her silence on the issue on Monday. “Anyone can go to Sandeshkhali. We have no issues with that. We have already sent the state women’s commission team to Sandeshkhali and multiple arrests have been made. The situation is being monitored closely and necessary steps are being taken. Those who are involved in this violence, all of them will be arrested,” she said.

A senior TMC leader said the protests were orchestrated by the Opposition. “Some of our leaders in Sandeshkhali are embroiled in controversies. But protests that happened last week were not the real picture, that was organised by the CPI(M) and BJP,” the leader claimed.

The TMC’s sitting Sandeshkhali MLA Sukumar Mahata has denied local women’s allegations. The local police has also said the allegations are “baseless”.

The TMC won from the Sandeshkhali Assembly seat in the last two polls, and the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in the last three polls. The party now appears to be in damage control mode to prevent the unrest from spreading to nearby areas.

Both the BJP and CPI(M) are looking to capitalise on the situation. As the BJP and CPI(M) delegations tried to enter Sandeshkhali, police stopped them, including the BJP’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. “Tomorrow the TMC delegation will go and Section 144 will be lifted. We are seeing all the developments,” Adhikari said.

Given the proximity of Sandeshkhali to the Bangladesh border and local opposition to illegal immigration, the BJP is framing the issue along religious lines. “In Sandeshkhali, 67% of the population is either Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste. They were tortured by the local Muslim TMC leaders. After the Shahjahan row, the Hindu population came out to protest,” a senior BJP leader said.

On the other hand, the CPI(M) is claiming that their organisation is still intact at the grassroots level there. A district committee member of the CPI(M) said the local support it received during their protest was a sign of the party gaining ground in the area. “Our leader Nirapada Sardar was local MLA from 2011 to 2016 but lost in 2016. We thought the people of Sandeshkhali went to the BJP camp like other parts of West Bengal. But when we started to organise people against Sheikh Shahjahan, we saw that we have a footing and they are ready to protest against TMC goons till the end. The TMC cannot stop us by arresting our leaders,” he said.