SANDESHKHALI: Fresh violence rocked Sandeshkhali on Friday as villagers in Bermajur II panchayat area attacked yet another bheri (fish farm) owned by Siraj, brother of absconding TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, and thrashed a local party functionary, reported. While district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144, Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar rushed back to Sandeshkhali from Kolkata.
Talking to reporters, Kumar admitted to police lapses and inaction on complaints against land-grabbers. Police also started marches to instill confidence among people.
Kumar had criss-crossed Sandeshkhali on Wednesday before leaving for Kolkata on Thursday. But less than 24 hours after his return, men and women from Kachhari village on Friday morning stormed Siraj’s bheri and torched the thatched structures adjacent to the water body. They then ransacked Bermajur president Ajit Maity’s house and assaulted the TMC functionary and his wife. The villagers alleged Maity had grabbed their farmlands and converted them into fish farms for Shahjahan and Siraj.
Police reached the spot and detained 11 people, but women mobbed the vehicles to stop them from being ferried to Sandeshkhali police station. Some of the women lay on the road while other villagers used logs to block the road and burnt tyres, demanding immediate release of the accused.
DGP Kumar said action would be taken against those who indulged in vandalism but assured the villagers that their land-grab complaints would be investigated.
Talking to reporters, Kumar admitted to police lapses and inaction on complaints against land-grabbers. Police also started marches to instill confidence among people.
Kumar had criss-crossed Sandeshkhali on Wednesday before leaving for Kolkata on Thursday. But less than 24 hours after his return, men and women from Kachhari village on Friday morning stormed Siraj’s bheri and torched the thatched structures adjacent to the water body. They then ransacked Bermajur president Ajit Maity’s house and assaulted the TMC functionary and his wife. The villagers alleged Maity had grabbed their farmlands and converted them into fish farms for Shahjahan and Siraj.
Police reached the spot and detained 11 people, but women mobbed the vehicles to stop them from being ferried to Sandeshkhali police station. Some of the women lay on the road while other villagers used logs to block the road and burnt tyres, demanding immediate release of the accused.
DGP Kumar said action would be taken against those who indulged in vandalism but assured the villagers that their land-grab complaints would be investigated.