Police on Sunday arrested Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader Ayesha Bibi from the Sandeshkhali area in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district for her alleged involvement in burning poultry firms of arrested local Trinamool Congress leader Shibaprasad Hazra, an officer said.
Police also detained a few villagers for their alleged involvement in vandalism there, he added.
"We have found her involvement in burning one property during an agitation in Sandeshkhali. She has taken up law and order in her own hands which will not be allowed. We are following the provisions in the law for such involvement," the police officer told PTI.
He, however, did not want to disclose the exact number of villagers detained for vandalism.
Meanwhile, a Trinamool Congress delegation will again visit Sandeshkhali on Sunday and speak to villagers who have been protesting against alleged atrocities by local leaders of the ruling party.
The delegation led by state irrigation minister Partha Bhowmick is expected to reach the restive area in the afternoon, a party leader said.
This will be the fourth visit to Sandeshkhali by the ruling party leaders, amid protests by villagers against alleged land grab and sexual assault on women by local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters.
State Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose and Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmick, accompanied by Sandeshkhali MLA Sukumar Mahato, had on Saturday toured the area and spoken to the villagers, listening to their grievances.
"All the issues will be resolved. All the complaints will be addressed. No wrongdoers will be spared. The police are taking stern action. The opposition might try to fish in troubled waters but the people of the area have full faith in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," Bose told reporters after visiting the area a day before.
The police have been patrolling the area to instil confidence among the villagers and maintain the law and order there.
The unrest in Sandeshkhali stems from accusations against Sheikh and his supporters of land grabbing and sexual assault, with the local TMC leader evading authorities since a mob attack on Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5.
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