Tight security in Sandeshkhali ahead of CM Mamata Banerjee's visit

Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS) Ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s scheduled visit, Sandeshkhali, a conglomeration of islands in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, has been wrapped under blanket security cover since early Monday.

The Chief Minister’s visit will be the first since the crisis surfaced there over protests by local people, especially women, over allegations of sexual harassment and illegal land grabbing by local Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.

As per information available from the district police, a total of 700 police personnel under the supervision of senior police officials have been assigned the task of security of the dais where the Chief Minister will be attending a public programme and addressing the people.

Since the Chief Minister will be going by helicopter to Sandeshkhali, tight security arrangements have also been made at the helipad not far away from the programme venue. “Trial for helicopter landing has already been done on Sunday,” said a district police official.

Since this would be the Chief Minister’s first meeting at Sandeshkhali which broke out earlier this year, the district Trinamool Congress leadership had made all possible arrangements to ensure a grand welcome for the Chief Minister.

Several cutouts of the Chief Minister have been placed on the road between the helipad and the programme dais. Trinamool Congress supporters, in large numbers, have assembled near the programme venue with posters of the Chief Minister.

However, opposition parties claimed that the Chief Minister would not have come to Sandeshkhali had not Trinamool Congress candidates been elected from Basirhat Lok Sabha in the general elections earlier this year and subsequent bypolls at the Haroa Assembly constituency.

However, state Fire Services Minister Sujit Basu, who is accompanying the Chief Minister, had claimed that the CM was going to Sandeshkhali to honour the promises that she made earlier.

In January this year, Sandeshkhali for the first time hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons as a group of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and their escorting Central Armed Forces Personnel (CAPF) attempted a raid and search operations at the residence of Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the multi-core ration distribution case.

Shortly after that, the local people whose land was allegedly grabbed by Shahahjan and his associates, and the women came out on the streets to protest on the issues.

Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on February 29 after he managed to evade the police for around two months. He is currently in judicial custody.