India, May 8 -- Sixteen members of seven families in Sandeshkhali, once considered a stronghold of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in North 24 Parganas, have finally returned home days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the West Bengal Assembly polls, ending the 15-year rule of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

After returning to their village in the Sarberia area, the villagers said the move marked the end of a prolonged period of fear allegedly linked to the dominance of TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides.

The villagers, many of whom returned after years in exile, said they had fled following the 2016 Assembly elections after allegedly being targeted for opposing the entry of "criminal elements" into th...