Kolkata: Eight people, including two children, were charred to death in Bagtui village of Birbhum district in West Bengal on Monday evening after the murder of Trinamool Panchayat Deputy Chief Bhadu Sheikh.
As per reports, around ten houses in the village on the outskirts of Rampurhat town were set on fire by unidentified men who threw bombs as families were in deep slumber.
So far, police filed two FIRs, one over deputy pradhan Bhadu Sheikh’s killing and the other over the attack on the houses. Eleven people have been arrested in the second case.
On Tuesday, police also addressed a press conference and DGP Manoj Malviya confirmed that the fire incident did take place on Monday evening after the TMC leader was murdered, but also added that it is yet to be ascertained whether the houses were set afire in retaliation to the killing of the leader.
Calcutta High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of petition for court’s intervention in the violence case. The petition has been scheduled for hearing at 2 pm on Wednesday.
CJ Prakash Srivastava said this is a “serious crime”, adding that it should be probed immediately. “Houses were set on fire and people burnt alive. The perpetrators should be identified and punished,” he said.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the Rampurhat arson on instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the district on Wednesday as part of its probe.
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