Senpur (Bengal): On the night of February 8, at Senpur village of Kishnanagar-1 block in Nadia district, West Bengal, brothers Amir Chand Sheikh and Abdul Sheik, along with three women of their family were arrested because they made good on their deceased mother’s pledge to donate her eyes after her death.Local religious fundamentalists had arrived at the house shortly after Rabeya Bibi’s death, against the move to donate her eyes.Despite the deceased woman having died of natural causes and her eyes having been donated to Baharampur Medical College Hospital, her body was sent for a post-mortem examination.The news made waves across the state, mostly because Amir was a respected teacher who had been vocal against superstition.Late on February 12, Amir, Abdul and the three women were released from jail on bail.“My mother was not very educated, but she understood that if her eyes were donated after death, a visually impaired person would receive light. In keeping with her wish, I ensure that she could donate her two eyes. Because of this, religious fundamentalist forces attacked us — they vandalised our house, assaulted members of our family, and filed false cases against us. Even after we showed the police all the documents, including my mother’s death certificate, they did not grant us any relief. The police did not properly examine the documentary evidence we presented,” Amir said.Rabeya Bibi. Photo: By arrangement.Amir claimed that initially, he was told that he would be released shortly after he was rounded off and taken to the police station, but later yielded to the mob who had attacked his house.“The state needs 12,000 corneas. If incidents like this occur, people will be afraid to donate organs. It is we science activists who have been continuously campaigning for organ, body, and blood donations. We will continue this work no matter how many obstacles come our way,” Amir said.A large number of science activists, members of the local river protection committee, members of the children’s group Kishore Bahini, and many ordinary people had gathered outside Krishnanagar jail on February 12, to greet Amir upon release.Sudipta Saha Ray, state secretary of the organisation ‘Ganadarpan’ which facilitates such undertakings on behalf of willing donors stated to The Wire that this was a rare and unprecedented incident in Bengal. “West Bengal has long since set a proud example in posthumous eye and body donation. The attack by fundamentalists in Krishnagar has dealt a serious blow to that legacy,” he added.Rabeya Bibi had signed on a pledge to donate her eyes through Ganadarpan on October 17, 2024.Earlier, Superintendent of Police, Krishnanagar, Amarnath K had told The Wire, “Based on a complaint filed by a neighbour of Rabeya Bibi, Amir Chand Sheikh and the other family members were arrested solely to maintain law and order in the area.” He added that cases have been registered against them under Sections 303(2) (punishment for theft), 351(2) (general criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.Activists protest against Amir Chand’s arrest.The backgroundSenpur village is approximately 125 kilometres from Kolkata and about three kilometres from Krishnanagar, the district headquarters. A significant portion of the village population belongs to the Muslim community.Amir Chand Sheikh, a primary school teacher of this village, is widely known in the area as a social worker. Most villagers know him to be a Congress supporter. He is known to work closely with those who believe in leftist ideologies and those who are part of the science movement in the region.He is also associated with environmental movements and is one of the key organisers of a local Save the Rivers Committee working for the protection of rivers such as the Anjana and the Jalangi.About a year ago, Amir led a 42-kilometre march to save these rivers. In many places along these two rivers, promoters had carried out illegal construction, claimed villagers. As a result of Amir’s movement, the administration was compelled to demolish several of these illegal constructions, which angered some promoters who were associated with the Trinamool Congress, a villager who chose to remain anonymous, said. The Wire has not been able to confirm this account with the authorities.A teacher from the village that this reporter spoke to – who requested anonymity – said that due to his popularity and the causes that Amir champions, for quite some time now, fundamentalist forces in the area, allegedly with the support of local workers of the Trinamool Congress, have attempted to label him as “anti-religious” and have also tried to extract “fines” from him.He added that there were also efforts to socially boycott Amir, but that these attempts failed.On October 17, 2024, Rabeya Bibi had pledged to donate her eyes and organs through the Lions Club Chakdignagar Branch and Ganadarpan. Honouring her wish, the family informed the concerned authorities after her death. As a result, members from the Ajay Dey Memorial Eye Collection Center and the Santipur Murmi Unit arrived at Rabeya Bibi’s residence and collected her corneas.Rabeya Bibi’s pledge. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.Following government rules and procedures, the corneas were sent on February 9 to Baharampur Medical College Hospital for transplantation on a patient waiting to regain sight.Before Rabeya Bibi’s body could be buried on February 9, a group of people stormed into their house and began questioning members as to why Rabeya Bibi’s eyes had been removed. Tension escalated rapidly. According to the family, they informed the police and personnel from Krishnagar Police station arrived at the spot. The protesters allegedly attacked family members in the presence of the police. Their house was also vandalised.The protesters alleged that Amir had stolen and sold his mother’s organs. Police took Amir, his brother Abdul, and three women members of the family to Krishnanagar police station.A local, Rashid Sheikh, introduced himself as a neighbour of Rabeya Bibi and filed a report at the police station, accusing Amir and his family members of selling Rabeya Bibi’s eyes and kidney.A postmortem has revealed that the two kidneys in the body are intact.Amir’s family members said that even though they named locals who had vandalised their home in a police complaint, no action had been taken against them.Appearing in court, Rashid Sheikh said: “The villagers told me so, which is why I filed the complaint. Eye and organ donation are very good things. Now that the court has said he did not sell any organs, that is the correct position.”Thirty-seven organisations had submitted a deputation to Inspector-in-Charge Amalendu Biswas of the Kishnanagar police station, demanding the unconditional release of Amir and all his family members.Sourav Chakrobarty, the general secretary of Paschimbanga Bigyan Mancha, said that the activists also told Biswas that the incident will have sent a negative message about organ donation to the public.Activists are keen to hold a blood donation, posthumous body- and organ-donation campaign in Senpur village.