A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation seized arms, including foreign-made pistols, during raids at multiple locations in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the central agencies and said there is “no evidence” of arms seizure. Mamata Banerjee expressed skepticism regarding the operations and said that the CBI conducted the raids without informing the state police and the recovered items “might have been brought by officials of the central agency”.
“If a firecracker goes off in Bengal, the NIA, CBI, NSG are coming to investigate. It seems that a war is going on. The state police were not informed. It is not known what was found. There was no evidence. They might have brought the seized items (CBI) in a car,” Banerjee said.
Mamata Banerjee’s remarks came during an election rally supporting the TMC candidate from the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, Shatrughan Sinha. The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court on Friday after the the National Security Guard (NSG) commandoes reached Sandeshkhali with CBI.
“Today, I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali. A BJP leader had stored bombs in his house. They think that they can win the elections by cancelling (school) jobs and with bombs. We want ‘roti, kapda, makaan’ and jobs for the people, not their lofty speeches,” the Chief Minister added.
Sandeshkhali has been at the centre of a political storm since January 2024, when a team from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was attacked by a mob that local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh allegedly instigated. As the matters escalated, the women of the area accused Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides of sexual harassment and land grabbing. The CBI arrested him on February 29.
PM Modi mentions Sandeshkhali’s ‘atrocities’ in his Lok Sabha election pitch
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has cornered the TMC-led West Bengal government over the Sandeshkhali issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Mamata Banerjee during his Lok Sabha election rallies. In March, PM Modi also visited the Sandeshkhali area and met with the victims of alleged harassment.
“So many atrocities were committed against women in Sandeshkhali, and the TMC government kept protecting the main accused till the end,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally in Malda.
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Published: 27 Apr 2024, 08:24 PM IST