Surveillance tightened in Sandeshkhali to prevent recurrence of tension

Kolkata: Amid fresh allegations of hounding by local anti-social elements in the wee hours of the day levelled by some women at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, surveillance has been beefed up in the area, which is a conglomeration of some islands, to prevent recurrence of tension.

District police sources said that 10 new CCTV cameras have been installed at five different locations with focus on the areas from where maximum complaints were received.

The initiative, according to the local police, will be key in keeping a close watch on the movements of people in the troubled areas so that prompt action can be taken in case of any foul play.

On Wednesday, that is 14 days after tension broke out at Sandeshkhali after some local women accused certain local Trinamool Congress leaders of sexual harassment and violence, acting DGP Rajeev Kumar visited the troubled spots, accompanied by newly-appointed ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar and Basirhat district SP Hossain Mehedi Rehman.

Kumar held a closed-door meeting with the top police officers on the law and order situation in the area.

Although the acting DGP did not speak to mediapersons, sources said that Kumar took a detailed stock of the nature of police deployment in the area and the complaints received by the police.

The visit of Kumar was significant considering that a field-inspection team from the National Commission of Scheduled Tribe (NCST) is scheduled to visit Sandeshkhali on Thursday.