KOLKATA: Six police personnel were injured Friday evening after a mob attacked them while detaining a Trinamool Congress activist in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas district. The incident underscores ongoing tensions in the region, where allegations of land grabbing and political violence have surfaced.
Police stated the team went to Boyemari village in Sandeshkhali to find Musa Mollah, accused of pumping water onto land to create a fish farm despite court orders prohibiting such activity.
Escalation in Sandeshkhali: Mob Attacks Police
A dispute over land use led to a violent confrontation between law enforcement and local residents.
- Six police officers sustained injuries during the attack.
- The incident occurred after police attempted to detain a Trinamool Congress activist.
- Nine people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
- The unrest follows previous allegations of land grabbing and abuse in the Sandeshkhali area.
Mollah had previously been summoned to the Nazat police station multiple times but failed to appear. According to a local resident, “On Friday, when police came to the village and detained him, a mob gathered and started pelting stones at the cops.”
“Six police personnel from Nazat police station were injured in Friday’s attack and a police vehicle was also damaged,” confirmed a senior police officer. The mob briefly held the officers captive before reinforcements arrived to secure their release and apprehend Mollah.
Nine individuals have been arrested following the violence, and authorities are questioning the panchayat leader and deputy leader of the Boyermari-II village panchayat, which is governed by the TMC.
What is the history of unrest in Sandeshkhali? The Friday incident echoes events from January 5, 2024, when the Enforcement Directorate raided the residence of Sheikh Shahjahan, a local TMC leader and Zilla Parishad member, in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.
In February 2024, protests erupted as villagers, predominantly women, accused Shahjahan and his associates of land grabbing and sexual assault. The Calcutta High Court subsequently ordered a CBI investigation. Shahjahan, along with Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar, was arrested and remains incarcerated.
Sajal Ghosh, a leader with the BJP, asserted that the recent attack demonstrates a lack of change in Sandeshkhali. “Shahjahan might be in jail but he still controls everything. Those who have assaulted the police are all TMC workers. Their task is to extort money. The police are also a slave of the TMC,” he stated.
Arup Chakraborty, a TMC leader, dismissed the BJP’s claims, condemning the attack and emphasizing that police were acting against Mollah. “This is condemnable. Police have taken action. It was a mob outrage which is being politicised. The opposition can’t do anything constructive. They have no issue in hand and hence making such statements,” he said.
