Sandeshkhali unrest: Calcutta HC orders CBI to probe sexual assault, land-grabbing charges

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged incidents of sexual assault and land grabbing by suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali, in the state’s North 24 Parganas district, PTI reported.

A division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya was hearing public interest litigations seeking an independent investigation into the allegations.

The court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a comprehensive report on the alleged illegal conversion of agricultural land to water bodies for pisciculture by May 2, reported PTI.

The bench also directed the central agency to set up a portal where complaints will be lodged to ensure confidentiality and provide security to victims and witnesses in the case, reported The Indian Express.

“In the event the complaints disclose cognisable offence, CBI shall proceed in accordance with law,” the order said.

At the previous hearing on April 4, advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and one of the petitioners in the case, demanded that the investigation be transferred to a court-monitored commission authorised to receive complaints from the residents of Sandeshkhali and compile them for the court.

Submitting the affidavits of women who were allegedly affected by the violence, Tiberwal said that several government officials, including...

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