Parliament Panel Probe Against Bengal Officers On Hold In Sandeshkhali Case

The case of alleged atrocities against villagers in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, which has prompted a political firestorm, has reached the Supreme Court with the Mamata Banerjee government challenging a Parliament Committee notice to her top officers.

The Privileges Committee had issued the notice after state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar was injured during a clash with cops when a party delegation visited the remote island.

The Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the state Director General of Police, the local District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police, and the police station in-charge were ordered to appear before the panel on Monday.

The West Bengal government has demanded an early hearing in the case.

The Supreme Court was already set to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a court-monitored probe into the allegations by Sandeshkhali villagers.

The case surrounds a Trinamool leader and local strongman Sheikh Sahajan, who and his aides have been accused of systematically exploiting the villagers and multiple counts of sexual assault. Two of his henchmen - Uttam Sardar and Shibu Prasad Hazra - have been arrested, but Shahjahan is still on the run.

Governor CV Ananda Bose, who has visited Sandeshkhali, said that "women in numbers" have told him they were harassed and intimidated, and that he has forwarded their written complaints to the state government.

"Women in numbers met me and told me about their grievance. They said they were molested, harassed and intimidated, their husbands were beaten up," Mr Bose told NDTV.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of making a "mountain out of a molehill". "Instead of peace, they are starting fires," she has claimed.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which visited Sandeshkhali last week, had recommended President's Rule in the state amid violence and political tension.