West Bengal Police Detains Independent Fact-Finding Committee Going To Sandeshkhali While TMC Ministers Reach Town

Members of the Fact-Finding Committee going to Sandeshkhali were detained by the West Bengal Police on Sunday (25 February) while ministers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government reached the town in North 24 Parganas district.

After being stopped at Bhojerhat in South 24 Parganas district, a member of the committee OP Vyas alleged that the police stopped them illegally and that the constitutional machinery in West Bengal had collapsed.

Another member Narsimha Reddy said, "Now, we will seek the appointment of the governor and explain the situation to him. Later we will talk about this to the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi."

Reddy is former Chief Justice of Patna High Court and other members along with him are former IPS officer Raj Pal Singh, former National Commission for Women member Charu Wali Khanna and advocate Bhavna Bajaj.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister Sujit Bose reached Sandeshkhali and said, "BJP keeps making allegations. It does not matter. We are doing our work... We want the voting to take place in peace."

Another minister Partha Bhowmick had said yesterday that lands will be given back to the victims and denied the allegations of sexual assault on women calling it "fake." The BJP attacked TMC's denial mode.

The allegations of land grab and sexual assault find prominence in the Sandeshkhali issue. While two of the accused TMC leaders Uttam Sardar and Shiboprasad Hazra are arrested, Shahjahan Sheikh is still on the run.