Sandeshkhali protest: West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar injured during lathicharge, hospitalised

West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar was on Wednesday admitted to the Basirhat multi-facility hospital after he was injured during the police lathi charge as a scuffle broke out between the police and party workers. The state BJP staged a protest against the situation in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. Women in Sandeshkhali have been agitating for the last few days over alleged atrocities against them by TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides.

Sukanta Majumdar got injured after falling from the car and a lathi charge by security personnel followed soon after, reported news agency ANI. 

BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said the West Bengal Police was preventing Majumdar from visiting unrest-hit Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. "The TMC does not mean Trinamool Congress but Taliban Mansikta Culture. On one hand, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee talks about 'Ma Mati Manush', on the other, the state has become 'bandh, balatkari and bomb'. Shahjahan Sheikh is roaming freely," he said.

On Tuesday, prohibitory orders were clamped in the vicinity of the SP's office in Basirhat. The orders were enforced under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) from 6 am and 6 pm to maintain law and order. A large number of police personnel have also been deployed outside the SP's office in Basirhat to prevent any untoward incident, the officials said. Sandeshkhali is under the purview of the Basirhat police district.

The protesters claim that Sheikh and his "gang" captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing women in the area. Sheikh, who has been absconding since last month after a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that went to raid his house in Sandeshkhali in connection with a ration scam, was attacked by a mob. 

Sukanta Majumdar on Tuesday said a party delegation will travel to Basirhat by train. "We will reach Basirhat, meet the SP and question him on the Sandeshkhali development. We shall demand punishment for the culprits,” he told reporters at Hridaypur railway station. "We could have broken the barricades put up by the police, but our party will not do it... we don’t want to inconvenience the locals," Majumdar said, when asked about the decision to travel by train. 

On Monday, senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and several other MLAs of the party were stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali. A Congress delegation, too, had reportedly been prevented from visiting the trouble-torn area on Tuesday.

(With inputs from PTI)