Sandeshkhali Uproar: SC to Hear Plea for Court-Monitored Probe on Monday

A Supreme Court bench is scheduled to hear on Monday a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe by CBI or SIT into the violence and alleged sexual harassment of women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea seeks transfer of the probe outside of West Bengal.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih will hear the PIL filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. On February 16, the top court agreed to hear the plea after it was mentioned for urgent listing by Srivastava.

The plea, filed by Srivastava in his personal capacity, also seeks compensation for the victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. Srivastava, a practising Supreme Court lawyer, has been filing PILs in the top court to raise socio-political issues.

The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides, it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual abuse of women by a local TMC leader. Several local women have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion.

Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who had gone to search his premises in connection with a corruption case.