KOLKATA: In a significant development, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegation of sexual assault and rape in the Sandeshkhali district of West Bengal. The court said it would monitor the investigation, and directed the CBI to file a report on the illegal conversion of agricultural land for pisciculture. The investigating agency has also come up with a portal where people can register their voices. All witnesses will be given protection, sources said.
Sharing more details, Advocate Alok Srivastav said, “A landmark order has been passed by the Calcutta High Court today. An order has just been pronounced directed for HC monitored CBI inquiry in Sandeshkhali sexual assault, rape cases and also in land grabbing cases. In the ED attack case, a CBI inquiry is already going on… The HC has ordered the West Bengal govt to provide adequate facilities and protection to the CBI officers and the victims of Sandeshkhali. The HC has passed a series of directions in favour of the victims. I am going to file a caveat in the Supreme Court as I am sure that the West Bengal govt is likely to challenge the order as they did in the ED attack case but the Supreme Court has dismissed their challenge…”
#WATCH | On the Calcutta High Court order in the Sandeshkhali case, Advocate Alok Srivastav says, “A landmark order has been passed by the Calcutta High Court today. An order has just been pronounced directed for HC monitored CBI inquiry in Sandeshkhali sexual assault, rape cases… pic.twitter.com/D3OoJyAlBL
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2024
Sandeshkhali, a riverine island around 80 kilometres from Kolkata, has been in the news after local women alleged land-grabbing and sexual abuse by now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his men, who are involved in fish farming and trading.
The CBI has already been probing the January 5 attack by supporters of TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, who had gone to Sandeshkhali-I to raid his house in connection with the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the state’s public distribution system.
On February 5, local women of the village demanded that Sheikh and his aides be arrested, accusing them of sexual abuse and harassment. The villagers have also accused the TMC leader of forcibly grabbing their lands. Sheikh, the TMC strongman, was arrested by the state police on February 29 after 55 days on the run. Subsequently, TMC suspended Sheikh from the party. Sheikh was later handed over to the CBI on court orders.
The attack on ED officials and the allegations by the villagers have become a flashpoint between the ruling TMC and the BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his April 4 rally in Cooch Behar, attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led government over atrocities against women, referring to the Sandeshkhali incident.