DYFI leader Minakshi Mukherjee on Saturday gave police the slip and managed to sneak inside the troubled zones of Sandeshkhali block in North 24-Parganas, covering her face with a long scarf.

She spoke to villagers till the police rushed in and stopped her.

The entry of the leader of the CPM's youth wing embarrassed the police with several senior officers terming it "intelligence failure" and "sheer negligence" on the part of surveillance teams.

Around 9.30am on Saturday, the sari-clad Minakshi, her face covered, accompanied by CPM state committee member Palash Das, arrived at Dhamakhali and crossed the Kalindi river to enter Natunpara. The police failed to recognise her as she went around meeting villagers, including family members of arrested former CPM MLA Nirapada Sardar.

Finally, as the three-member team led by Minakshi moved from one location to another on an e-vehicle and kept talking to villagers, the police got wind of her presence and rushed to stop her in her tracks around 1.30pm.

By the time a police team blocked her way, a sizeable number of local CPM supporters joined her and it appeared as if Minakshi was leading a rally in Sandeshkhali.

Speaking to The Telegraph over the phone as she stood face-to-face with a posse of police personnel, Minakshi said: "They have blocked our way on the pretext of Section 144. There is one set of laws for Trinamul leaders and another set of laws for us. The prohibitory orders are illegal. This is government-sponsored terror. We want to see how long they can do this to us."

Minakshi was referring to the access that cops allowed Trinamul leaders Partha Bhowmik and Sujit Bose who visited Sandeshkhali on Saturday.

The police claimed her presence could incite fresh tension in the area. After a heated exchange with cops, Minakshi was brought to Dhamakhali jetty.

"Police are using prohibitory sections to prevent those trying to help the villagers. The police said Section 144 had been clamped but failed to produce any documents in support of their claim," Minakshi said as she sat on a dharna at Dhamakhali and called out cops for their "illegal actions".

CPM insiders said that Minakshi's entry into Sandeshkhali was planned to challenge the administration. Party workers close to Minakshi advised her to wear a sari and cover her face as she is mostly seen in salwar-kurtas.

The plan succeeded. Minakshi, with some party colleagues, reached Dhamakhali and crossed the Kalindi river almost "unnoticed" to reach Sandeshkhali.

It took the police over three hours to realise their "mistake", but by then Minakshi had met scores of people.

Minakshi told the media: "The police are harassing innocent people, torturing protesters at night and making passage easy for Trinamul leaders. If Partha Bhowmik and Sujit Bose can visit the place, why can't we?"

Bhowmik claimed Minakshi was not prevented from visiting Sandeshkhali. "I saw her roaming with many of her party colleagues," he said, adding that his visit to Sandeshkhali was as a minister, not a Trinamul leader.