Sandeshkhali Violence: SC-ST Panel Submits Report To Droupadi Murmu, Recommends President's Rule In Bengal

NCSC Chairman Arun Halder said Shahjahan Sheikh and his gang had created a very terrified atmosphere that people were so scared to speak out.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman Arun Halder on Friday said the panel has recommended the imposition of President's rule in West Bengal in its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu on the alleged harassment of women by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters in Sandeshkhali.

A delegation of NCSC  visited Sandeshkhali on Thursday after a large number of women claimed that TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and also sexually harassed them.

"When we visited Sandeshkhali yesterday, Shahjahan Sheikh and his gang had created a very terrified atmosphere that people were so scared to speak out. They were saying that he and his gang would attack them again once we left," Arun Halder said, according to ANI.

"We went to Sandeshkhali PS but they fled after seeing us and did not talk to us. We have sent a report to President Droupadi Murmu. Under Article 338 of the Constitution, Scheduled Castes and Tribes need to be protected but it is being violated, and that too with the support of government," he added.

Speaking to reporters after submitting the report to the President, Halder shared a brief account of atrocities and violence endured by the people of Sandeshkhali.

"We have recommended that President's rule should be imposed in West Bengal over the situation there," he said.

Criminals in the state have joined hands with the government there, he added.

Earlier today, a six-member fact-finding team, including two union ministers, was stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali. The police did not allow the BJP team to go to the unrest-hit Sandeshkhali, citing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik said.

BJP leaders are now on their way to meet the West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and apprise him of the incident.

Many women in Sandeshkhali are demanding the immediate arrest of Sheikh, who has been absconding since an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that raided his house in connection with an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob last month.