Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal is essentially an island, one of the many islands in the Sunderbans region, where the demand for the arrest of TMC leader Sheikh ·News coverage of Sheikh Shajahan’s protests. To get there, you have to cross a river.

Sheikh Shah Jahan is known as “betajbadshah‘(or shameless king) Sandesh Kali. On January 5, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials who went to the area to search his residence in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam in the state were attacked and their belongings were snatched away.

A section of the locals demanded the arrest of Shah Jahan and his aides, while another section set fire to the poultry farm of his colleague Shiboprasad Hazra and went on to destroy another aide. Uttam Sardar’s farmhouse.Local women armed with weapons as protests escalate lathe, camping around the police station. Some locals claimed that Hazra and Sardar “tortured” them, snatched away their land and made them work without pay.

To understand the situation on the ground, News18 traveled to Sandeshkari. Before reaching the main island, one has to pass through an area called Sorberia, where the entire market is named after Shajahan. News18 then reaches Dhamakhali from where ferry services are available to reach Sandeshkhali. With a heavy police presence at the scene, it quickly became apparent that the area was not peaceful. ghat.

News18 then reached the village where the Hazira poultry farm was set on fire. Here, Shiboprasad Hazra’s name is written on the wall next to the TMC election logo, a relic of the recent Panchayat elections. His poultry farm has a vast area. All is gone now, but police are stationed here to prevent more violence.

Local Tulsi Mondal lives next to a former poultry farm. “They did not give us money. We don’t know who sabotaged this but Hazra and Sardar were the extortionists. They used to raise fish in people’s homes Bailey (the pond where the fish is kept), but they never paid us any money. I went there to ask for money for my daughter’s wedding but they said we wouldn’t get anything. They used to force us to attend (public) meetings and if we refused, they would file false lawsuits against our children. We are living in fear now,” she told News18.

Another local, Jayanti Barik, told News18: “I also started working four months ago but they didn’t give me any money. I heard they used to do bad things to women.”

Sandesh Khali is filled with similar emotions of anger and uncertainty. Apart from the presence of senior officials, drone cameras were also deployed to monitor the law and order situation.

After the incident broke out, violence quickly spread to Jeliakali and Tuskari islands.

People living around the Sandeshkhali police station were hesitant to speak to the media, but a migrant worker working in Kerala who asked not to be named told News18: “We are caught between a rock and a hard place. We have no choice but to protest. When the locals asked Uttam Sardar to pay their dues, he refused and behaved very badly. How long can people tolerate this?”

Another local, Jadunath Maity, who owns a shop in Sandeshkhali, told News18: “They are all babus. During the elections, they made us work but did not give us any payment. We are TMC supporters but we Not their servants. If we don’t do their job, then we go to jail. The police support them because they are strong.”

The BJP claimed that Sheikh Shah Jahan was “protected” by the police. BJP president Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking the Centre’s intervention in the region. The BJP delegation was also prevented from entering Sandeshkari citing Section 144 prohibition order.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari met the Governor and requested his intervention. Adhikari also announced his intention to visit Sandesh Khali on Monday along with other MLAs.

Reacting to the BJP’s allegations, the ruling TMC alleged that there was a “conspiracy” by the CPM and the saffron party to divert attention from the state government’s “campaign” over non-payment of central MNREGA funds to West Bengal.

National Crime Records Bureau director Siddhinath Gupta and all senior officials are now posted at Sandeshkhali. “Fourteen people have been arrested. We are investigating all complaints. The situation is peaceful,” Gupta said.