Sandeshkhali on edge as fresh protests break out

Fresh protests rocked West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village on Friday as local women demanded the arrest of absconding Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, set fire to a hut next to a fish farm allegedly owned by the strongman's brother and thrashed another leader of the ruling party.

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The developments came even as senior police officers visited the North 24 Paraganas village and DGPRajeev Kumar urged people not to take the law into their own hands. In Bermajur village, a group of angry protesters, largely local women armed with lathis and brooms, protested on the streets, and set fire to the thatched hut, levelling multiple allegations against Shahjahan's family.

"Shahjahan, his brother Sirajuddin and their aides forcefully grabbed our lands and turned them into fish farms. Those who refuse to give their lands were beaten up," one women, who did not want to be identified, said. Earlier on Thursday also, dozens of women set ablaze a thatched structure linked to Shahjahan. 

The protesters also heckled local TMC leader Ajit Maity, and his family members. Bricks were hurled at his house and his motorcycle was damaged. "They heckled... just because I am with the TMC and work with Sirajuddin," Maity told reporters.