Caste panel recommends ‘President’s rule’ in Bengal; Highlights from BJP delegation’s meeting with Guv over Sandesh Khali dispute

In one of the major developments, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Friday submitted its report on harassment of women by Sandeshkari TMC supporters to President Drupadi Murmu. The panel in its report recommended imposing President’s rule in West Bengal.

A delegation from the NCSC visited Sandeshkari on Thursday after a large number of women alleged that TMC leader Shahjahan Shaikh and his supporters had occupied large tracts of land with force and sexually harassed them.

Earlier in the day, a central team consisting of BJP MP and West Bengal Congress president Adil Ranjan Chowdhury was stopped by police on their way to the riot-hit Sandeshkari area.

Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik said the Bangladesh police had restricted their movement citing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Sandesh Khali violence: Here are the top updates of the day

• The NCSC delegation on Friday submitted its report on the Sandesh Khali violence and recommended the imposition of President’s rule in West Bengal.
• NCSC chief Arun Halder said the TMC government and West Bengal police failed to cooperate with his team.
• A central team of BJP MPs, including two union ministers, have been blocked from visiting Sandeshkari in West Bengal.
• A six-member fact-finding team, including BJP president JP Nadda, is on its way to meet West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose.
• A Congress delegation led by state president Adil Ranjan Chaudhry was also stopped by police on its way to restive Sandeshkari district.
• West Bengal Congress president and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took part in a protest in Rampur after being denied entry to Sandeshkhali.
• West Bengal Congress president and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: “The TMC or the central government will not take any step to enforce the President’s rule as their only motive is polarization politics.”
• A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-supervised CBI or SIT probe into the violence in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, and compensation to the victims.
• Top leader of the Socialist Party of the Philippines Mayawati on Friday expressed concern over the violence in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal and urged the Mamata Banerjee government to “take strict action against the culprits”.
• “There is nothing more disgusting than this. Playing this kind of game with women? It’s unbelievable. We are all in politics, but this is beyond politics,” said BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty said.
• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued a notice to the district administration seeking an immediate probe into reports of a child being thrown away by miscreants in Sandeshkari.

Protests in Sandeshkari continued for the eighth day on Friday, with visibly female demonstrators demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shahjahan Shaikh and his associates.

A large number of local women have accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land grabbing and sexual assault” under duress.

Many women in Sandeshkari demanded Sheikh’s immediate arrest. Sheikh has been on the run after an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team raided his home last month and was attacked by a mob in connection with an alleged ration scam.