West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, who arrived in Sandeshkhali after cutting short his visit in Kerala, said that what he saw in the violence-hit village was “ghastly shocking” and “shattering” to his senses.
“What I saw was ghastly shocking, shattering to my senses. I saw something which I should never have seen. I heard many things which I should never have heard. If you have tears, this is the time to shed those tears. If you have sighs to heave, heave them now. That is how horrible human life is, where the law cannot take its course,” the Governor said.
#WATCH | After visiting Sandeshkhali, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose says, " What I saw was ghastly shocking, shattering to my senses. I saw something which I should never have seen. I heard many things which I should never have heard. If you have tears, this is the time to… pic.twitter.com/4kkdUTMB53
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024
Ananda Bose said that he could not believe that such a horrific incident could happen in the State where Rabindranath Tagore was born.
“When I listened to my mothers and sisters there I could not believe that this could happen in Kabi guru Rabindranath Tagore’s place. Imagine a happy home, husband and wife, grown-up children including girl children. Some goons come inside the house, catch hold of the girl child, assault the wife in front of the husband, and beat up the husband…This is no fiction. This is what I was told happened in this village in the last few days,” the Governor said.
The Governor said that they should fight against such injustice under the Constitution and within the laws of the land. “They (villagers) know who did this. They know the goons, they are at large. This shocks civilised senses anywhere. This can never happen. We should fight it out under the Constitution. I will fight it out under the Constitution. I will fight it out within the laws of the land. I will fight it out with the democratically elected Government of the state. Certainly, we will spare no effort to see that the guilty are punished,” Ananda Bose said.
The Governor said that it is shameful for society that such an act of violence goes unchecked by the authority.
“Confidence should be restored in women. A society that leaves its women to fend for themselves. If the women had to come out of their houses in numbers and protest against this ghastly crime that went around unchecked by the authorities, it is a shame for us and a shame for the entire society. This should not happen in a civilised space like Bengal,” he said.
The Governor had previously instructed the State Government to submit a report on the violence that broke out in Sandeshkhali on February 9, the Raj Bhavan stated.
In a recent incident in the Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, agitated villagers set fire to the poultry farm belonging to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shivprasad Hazra.
Locals, particularly women, marched through various sections of Sandeshkhali, carrying slippers in their hands, demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh in an alleged land ration allotment scam.
Earlier in the day, in a no-holds-barred attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Sandeshkhali issue, Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged on February 12 that the TMC chief is known for the ‘genocide’ of Hindus.
“The women of Sandeshkhali are crying out for help and protection. Mamata Bandopadhyay is known for the genocide of Hindu women, and she will now allow her men to pick out Hindu young married women to be raped night after night in the TMC office,” Smriti Irani said while addressing the media here in the national capital.
(with inputs from ANI)
