Every complaint will be heard by police in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal; if someone is found guilty, severe consequences will ensue: DGP

Rajeev Kumar, the DGP of West Bengal, said on Thursday that people in Sandeshkhali will have their complaints heard by the police, and those found guilty will face severe consequences.

In order to evaluate the situation in the volatile parts of the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Kumar traveled to Sandeshkhali on Wednesday and spent the night there. He promised to take stern action against anyone found to be participating in the tormenting of women.

“I came to speak with my officers here. It is our duty to consider the welfare of the populace. Everybody’s objections will be heard by us. If there is an event involving land grabbing or anything else, the guilty will face harsh consequences. We will take necessary punishment against anybody proven to have participated in torture,” Kumar told reporters on Thursday morning in Dhamakhali.

Kumar visited the neighboring islands of Situlia, Sardarpara, and Manipur on Wednesday evening in order to gain a better understanding of the situation. This was Kumar’s first trip to the area since the protests started. He met with ADG South Bengal Supratim Sarkar, Basirhat Police District SP Hasan Mehedi Rehman, and other police officers.

Sandeshkhali will be visited by a special team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that was formed to look into claims of land grabbing and sexual assault.

The DGP and West Bengal Chief Secretary BP Gopalika have received letters from the NHRC requesting reports on violent occurrences in Sandeshkhali as well as information on the steps taken to apprehend those responsible for crimes there within a four-week period.

After a lady testified before a magistrate on Wednesday under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, police filed the second gang-rape case against the three primary suspects, Shajahan Sheikh, Uttam Sardar, and Sibaprasad Hazra, an official said.

The three of them have been charged under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 376-D (gangrape), 342 (wrongful confinement of any person), and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Following a crowd assault on Enforcement Directorate officers on January 5, Sandeshkhali gained global attention. The authorities went there in order to search TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh’s property in relation to a purported ration distribution scheme.

In addition to abusing them sexually, the protesting women in Sandeshkhali said that Shajahan and his “gang,” which included Hazra and Sardar, had taken large tracts of land by force.