PM To Visit Bengal, Meet Women Who Have Alleged Sex Harassment: Sources

Amid the political storm in West Bengal over the Sandeshkhali issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting some women from the island who have levelled allegations of sexual harassment and extortion against leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress.The Prime Minister will meet some women from Sandeshkhali on March 6 when he visits Bengal for a key meeting of the BJP's women's wing ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, sources have told NDTV.

A nondescript island in Bengal's North 24 Parganas, Sandeshkhali has been catapulted to national spotlight after the BJP accused local Trinamool leaders of sexually harassing women on the island. When NDTV visited Sandeshkhali and spoke to local residents, many of them accused local Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of land grab and extortion. Some of them alleged that Shahjahan's aides would extort from them money received under welfare schemes of the state and the central governments.

The BJP, which is the main Opposition in Bengal, has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of trying to hush up the issue. The Trinamool chief has responded by accusing the BJP of instigating unrest on the island.