Sandeshkhali: Amid huge protest on allegations of sexual assault of women in Sandeshkhali, the West Bengal government on Monday constituted a 10-member team headed by a DIG-rank woman officer to probe into the case. 

The police team will visit Sandeshkhali and speak to the women who have alleged that they were sexually assaulted by members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). They have been protesting for days demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and aides. 

The women group accused the TMC leader of forcefully capturing their land and sexually harassing them. The protest turned violent on February 9 after the angry villagers torched the properties linked to TMC leaders. 

TMC's Shajahan Shekh is abscconding since last month after a mob allegedly linked to him attacked Enforcement Directorate officers during raid at his residence in the ration scam. 

BJP Slams Mamata Govt Over Sandeshkhali Issue 

Training guns at CM Mamata Banerjee over the Sandeshkhali issue, BJP leader and union minister Smriti Irani on Monday claimed that she is known for the genocide of Hindus and that she will now allow rapes of married women in the Trinamool Congress office.

"Mamata Banerjee is known for the genocide of Hindus. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office... Who is this man who has been charged by the women of Sandeshkhali of the mass rape of Bengali Hindu women?... Till now everybody has been wondering who Sheikh Shahjahan is. Now, the question Mamata Banerjee has to answer is - where is Sheikh Shahjahan?," she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Bengal Guv Says ‘Visibly Shaken by Situation’ 

Governor CV Ananda Bose on Monday visited Sandeshkhali and asserted that he was "visibly shaken by the situation". He added, "What I saw was ghastly, shocking, shattering to my senses. I cannot believe this could happen in Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore's land," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

Reacting to the protests, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said those responsible have been put behind bars.

"Anyone can go to Sandeshkhali. We have no issues with that. We have already sent the state women commission team there. They returned and submitted a report. Those who have instigated violence have been arrested. The situation is being monitored closely and necessary steps are being taken," PTI quoted the Chief Minister as saying.

The Trinamool Congress has also announced that a delegation led by senior leader Partha Bhowmick would visit Sandeshkhali to assess the situation on Tuesday afternoon.