West Bengal police on Sunday arrested a fact-finding team of six members led by former Chief Justice of Patna High Court L Narasimha Reddy as they were proceeding to Sandeshkhali area to probe alleged incidents of atrocities on women.
The team comprises former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, Justice L Narasimha Reddy, former IPS officer Raj Pal Singh, former National Commission for Women member Charu Wali Khanna and advocate Bhavna Bajaj.
After being stopped by the police, the members staged a sit-in protest, and they were subsequently arrested by the police.
The four members — Justice Reddy, Raj Pal Singh, Charu Wali Khanna, and Bhavna Bajaj — were arrested under preventive sections for “breach of peace”.
The fact-finding team alleges that they were being stopped to “hide the truth of Sandeshkhali”.
“We were visiting Sandeshkhali, but they stopped us…Police have purposely stopped us and are creating problems for the common people. Police are not letting us meet the victims of Sandeshkhali,” Charu Wali Khanna said.
They also alleged that the police were unwilling to allow them to proceed despite their readiness to abide by the Section 144 notice and travel in groups of two or three.
The unrest in Sandeshkhali followed after several women accused Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of sexual assault and land grab earlier this month. Shahjahan has remained elusive since a mob attack on Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes said that it has received 50 complaints of “sexual abuse and land grab” from tribal families against the TMC leader and his associates.
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