A decade after fleeing their homes in Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas because of alleged Trinamool Congress threats and violence, 16 members of seven families returned on Wednesday.
Returning to their villages in the Sarberia area, they said this marked "the end of a prolonged period of fear" tied to the dominance of Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides.
The return, facilitated by the BJP following the change of guard in Bengal, was attributed by the police to improved law and order in the riverine island.
All those who returned were once associated with Trinamool but were allegedly forced to flee after the 2016 Assembly elections, claiming they had been targeted for opposing the entry of "criminal elements" into the party, whom they described as having links with CPM-affiliated groups.
Living in “self-imposed exile” for years under threat, many of them later joined the BJP.
Sheikh Ataur Rahaman, 43, a farmer, recounted the circumstances that led to his departure. “I fled home a day after the results of the 2016 Assembly elections were announced. On that day, a gang of about 100 armed goons under Sheikh Shahjahan attacked me. They fired 13 rounds indiscriminately targeting me, but I managed to escape through dense paddy fields,” he said.
“My only fault was that I strongly protested the entry of goons into the Trinamool Congress who were actually aligned with the CPM and who had, on several occasions, tortured and assaulted Trinamool workers during Left Front rule. Many of us who had played an instrumental role in establishing Trinamool in Sandeshkhali opposed this. That angered Shahjahan and the new entrants. They conspired overnight to eliminate me, but I was lucky to survive,” he said.
Recalling the aftermath, Rahaman said: “After that, they unleashed unbearable torture on my parents and my elder sister. So they also fled. Finding no way out, we joined the BJP in 2017 and remained in contact with them.”
He alleged that threats persisted even on the day of his return, which he said had been reported to the police.
Sirajul Sheikh, 54, narrated a similar ordeal upon his return. “Anti-social elements like Khokon Sheikh, Habibur Sheikh, Saifuddin Mollah and Montaz Ali, who were close to Shahjahan, attacked me. Despite being a founding member of the Trinamool Congress, I was attacked as I protested against their entry into the party," he said.
“My protest angered Shahjahan, who set his henchmen to eliminate me,” Sirajul said.
“For a decade, I lived a life in exile, far away from my home and family, without any stable source of income, only to save my life. I joined the BJP in 2018 and have now finally been able to return,” he added.
“Many of us who protested against the functioning of Shahjahan and his aides suffered similar fates. They were tortured, their lands were grabbed, and they were eventually forced to flee.”
“We are relieved after the fall of the atrocious regime of the Trinamool Congress that encouraged criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan to unleash fear in Sandeshkhali,” Sirajul said.
BJP sources claimed that at least 100 more such displaced persons, who had fled under alleged threats to their lives, had contacted the party and were expected to return soon.
Newly elected BJP MLA from Sandeshkhali, Sanat Sardar, said the process of return would continue. “In the coming days, many more such people will return since there will be no fear on the island. We will try to bring peace to the lives of the people in Sandeshkhali. The nightmare has ended,” he said.
Sandeshkhali emerged as a flashpoint in 2024 when widespread protests — led predominantly by women — erupted across the island against alleged land grabbing, intimidation and exploitation by local strongmen, with Shahjahan at the centre.
The movement, which drew national attention, saw villagers taking to the streets demanding protection and justice. Against this backdrop, the return of families who once fled the island is being viewed by political observers as both a symbolic and tangible shift in Sandeshkhali’s socio-political climate.
