Sandeshkhali, in South Bengal, has all the time been within the eye of a storm. The riverine space, resting cheek-by-jowl with the Sunderbans and the ocean, has lengthy been pummelled by cyclones. But the continuous tempest of tyranny that villagers, particularly girls, allege has been lashing them for over a decade has solely simply ceased. By all accounts, it’s a story of subverting justice and the wheels of administration for private achieve and affect. The undisputed villain of the piece, they are saying, is native Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his followers. The most damaging cost levelled in opposition to him: persistent sexual assault and abuse of girls. As news of Shahjahan’s arrest broke, it was girls who burst into celebration, splashing colors and distributing sweets. And as india as we speak visited the hamlet of Sandeshkhali—which is criss-crossed by rivers, making it virtually an island—and neighbouring villages, it was girls who spoke up most readily. They had purpose to really feel vindicated. Ask Urmila Das of Jeliakhali village, whose son has been on the run since Shahjahan’s motorbike-borne males beat him up for not assembly their calls for. Or her neighbour Shefali Das. “TMC men would ask us to attend party meetings. They would come at night and take us to party offices,” she remembers. What occurred at a lot of these conferences has made nationwide headlines. “If they come out (of custody), they will kill us all,” Shefali expresses her worst fears. Urmila and Shefali allege that every one legislation and order points could be straight or not directly dealt by Shahjahan and his males, whose writ ran unopposed in these components. Dissenters could be brutalised.
TMC chief Sheikh Shahjahan being produced in courtroom after his arrest, Feb. 29
Source: www.indiatoday.in
