In response to allegations of sexual assault and land grabbing, dozens of women took to the streets on Friday in Sandeshkhali, in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, setting a thatched structure linked to Trinamool Congress (TMC) powerful politician Sheikh Shahjahan on fire. State police chief Rajeev Kumar promised to take action against the perpetrators. Local women armed with lathis and sticks expressed their anger.Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided the premises of a businessman linked to Sheikh Shahjahan, who is accused of sexual assault and land grab in West Bengals Sandeshkhali.ED raids TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan residenceAccording to the sources, the raids have been conducted at his residence and other places in Howrah on Friday. The raids are in connection with an alleged scam related to the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme.The action has come a day after the agency issued fresh summons to Shahjahan to join investigation on February 29.Notably, this is not the first time that the raids have been conducted, two raids since last week has already been conducted in connection to the MGNREGA fraud. The previous instance of raids took place at the premises of panchayat members and government employees.Since February 7, Sandeshkhali has seen demonstrations and retaliation against Shahjahans associates. Shahjahan has been evading law enforcement since January 5, when three ED officers were injured by a mob during a search of his home as part of an investigation into an alleged Rs 550 crore ration scam. The colleagues are accused of mistreating women and grabbing land.Recently, the Calcutta High Court instructed a collaborative Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and West Bengal Police to investigate an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkhali.
