Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said the BJP when it comes to power in the state will set up a commission to probe the atrocities committed in Sandeshkhali and punish chief minister Mamata Banerjee if found guilty of conspiracy.

In January 2024, an Enforcement Directorate team came under attack when it went to Sandeshkhali, one of the islands of Sundarbans, to arrest the then local Trinamul strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

Shahjahan’s escape and subsequent arrest took the lid off rampant allegations of land grab and sexual assault on women, carried out allegedly by two of Shahjahan’s henchmen Uttam Sardar and Shibaprasad Hazra.

“Many people have fought for you. They still want to fight for you. You are not alone,” the BJP leader said at a public meeting in Sandeshkhali on Tuesday, a day after Mamata Banerjee visited and declared herself as the “protector” of the people there.

“I was stopped five times from visiting Sandeshkhali [earlier this year, when the people in the villages rose against the henchmen of the now suspended Shahjahan]. You [Mamata Banerjee] may have forgotten, the people here won’t, nor will I,” said Suvendu.

Adhikari said men and women from the BJP who fought for the victims of atrocities in Sandeshkhali were arrested and put behind bars.

“When the BJP comes to power in Bengal a commission will be formed to probe the atrocities. She will have to go to prison for sending to jail innocent women,” he said.

Adhikari declared that the BJP would wrest the Assembly seat of Sandeshkhali by 27,000 votes. “In 2024, we had a lead of 7,000 votes but in 2026 we will win by 27,000,” he said.

He predicted the BJP will also win the Hindu-majority seats of Hingalgunj and Basirhat South.

That, if it happens, will be in 2026 when Assembly elections are due next. Before that, the BJP will have to contend with the ruling Trinamul in the bypolls to the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, of which Sandeshkhali is an Assembly segment.

The Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of the sitting MP from the Trinamul, Haji Nurul Islam.

Mamata, during her visit on Monday where she announced projects worth Rs. 163 crore at an event attended by thousands of beneficiaries of government schemes, made passing references to the allegations that had surfaced against her party leaders. She painted the events as a conspiracy by the BJP.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his frequent campaigns in Bengal had turned the Sandeshkhali episode into a major poll plank for the party but the voters were not enthused as the Trinamul romped home with 29 of the state’s 42 seats.

The BJP had even fielded one of the victims of the alleged atrocities Rekha Patra, who lost to the late Haji.

The bypoll to Basirhat whenever it is held will be a battle of prestige for both the parties.

“So many women were tortured, taken to the party offices at midnight, will we forget everything?” asked Suvendu at the beginning of his address. “Be assured the next MP will be from the BJP.”

In her address, Mamata had said the events in Sandeshkhali were engineered by the BJP.

“I don’t want to hold on to the past… [or] keep those things in mind. I want Sandeshkhali to progress and local girls and boys to prosper,” she said on Monday at Sandeshkhali’s Mission Parade ground.

“I am aware that a big game was responsible for the disturbance and a lot of money was at play. People later came to realise that the whole thing was a lie. The truth will always come out, eventually,” she said.

Countering the CM’s claim, Adhikari claimed the ruling Trinamul in connivance with the police and administration had created fake videos to ensure the defeat of the BJP nominee. He questioned why the Trinamul in its three terms had failed to ensure development in the area.

“Listening to her speak it seemed that the CM is the leader of Opposition or has been in the chair for only six months. Yesterday she made promises, when will she look into the development projects here. If the BJP comes to power we will get the work done, upgrade the hospital to 100 beds. Are there any doctors? Do you get medical attention,” he asked.

Adhikari announced that the Bengal BJP’s membership drive has been extended till January 5.