Women from Sandeshkhali in West Bengal were being forced to withdraw their complaints by the ruling Trinamool Congress, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said on Friday and asked the Election Commission of India (EC) to inquire into the matter.
The NCW noted in an official statement here that a few women have taken their complaints back regarding Sheikh Shahjahan, who, along with his aides, is among the key accused in cases of land grab and sexual harassment that surfaced following protests in the Sandeshkhali island of North 24 Parganas district earlier this year.
In light of these developments, the Chairperson of the NCW has sent a letter to the EC highlighting the “alarming situation wherein women in West Bengal are allegedly being threatened into retracting their cases and providing false statements and creating an atmosphere of fear for women in Sandeshkhali”.
