Mamata accuses ED of instigating violence in Sandeshkhali

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held the Enforcement Directorate (ED) -- whose officers along with CAPF personnel were beaten up at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5 -- responsible for the ongoing tension in the area since last week.

She also virtually gave a clean chit to absconding Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, the accused mastermind behind the attack on ED and CAPF personnel, whose close associates have been accused of sexual harassment by the local women in Sandeshkhali.

“The ED is responsible for what is happening in Sandeshkhali presently. The agency officials went to Sandeshkhali targeting Shahjahan, with the intention of creating trouble there,” the Chief Minister said on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday.

Banerjee also toed the line adopted by some of her party leaders that outsiders are creating trouble in Sandeshkhali.

"First, the ED went there targeting Shahjahan and created tension in the area. Then a deliberate attempt was made to create tension between the minority and tribal population. Masked individuals are creating trouble in Sandeshkhali," the Chief Minister said, adding, "Outsiders are responsible for the ongoing tension there."

Ever since the attack on ED and CAPF personnel in Sandeshkhali on January 5, the Trinamool leadership has been describing the event as a “spontaneous outburst of public agony”.

Political observers feel that by holding the ED responsible for the tension in Sandeshkhali, the Chief Minister has virtually seconded her party’s theory in this matter.