SIT probe ordered as 8 charred to death in Birbhum district
Kolkata: Eight persons, including two children, were allegedly burnt alive inside a house in Rampurhat, Birbhum, following the murder of the deputy pradhan of Barosal panchayat on Monday night.
On Tuesday, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed comprising Gyanwant Singh, Additional Director General (ADG), CID, Bharat Lal Meena, Inspector General (IG) Burdwan Range and Meeraj Khalid Deputy Inspector General (DIG), CID, Operations. Police have arrested 11 persons so far. Also, Inspector-in-Charge (IC) of Rampurhat police station has been closed and the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Rampurhat, has been removed.
The TMC sent a team of three MLAs headed by minister Firhad Hakim to the village to assess the situation.
The incident triggered a fresh wave of war of words between the ruling TMC and the opposition parties. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar urging him to refrain from making "sweeping and uncalled-for comments" about the law and order situation in the state in the backdrop of the unfortunate incident. She maintained that a possibility of a larger political conspiracy to malign the image of the state cannot be ruled out.
Requesting the Governor not to make such unwarranted statements, she said it is better to allow the administration to conduct an impartial investigation to find out the truth and take exemplary action against those involved in the incident.
"Whenever such incident takes place, it is highly improper to make sweeping and uncalled for statement instead of paving way for impartial investigation.
However, you (Governor) have commented in your tweet that the horrifying violence and arson, indicates that the state is under a grip of violence and lawlessness.
This is highly unfortunate and unbecoming of a person holding such a dignified constitutional post," Banerjee wrote in her letter adding that the state government is saddened at the loss of lives.
Dhankhar had earlier released a video message on his official Twitter handle along with a post in which he described the incident as "horrifying violence and arson orgy".
"Horrifying violence and arson orgy #Rampurhat #Birbhum indicates state is in grip of violence culture and lawlessness. Already eight lives lost. Have sought urgent update on the incident from Chief Secretary. My thoughts are with the families of the bereaved," his post read.
Banerjee also questioned the silence of the Governor when much more heinous crimes have occurred in BJP-ruled states. "Our state is always peaceful barring a few sporadic incidents. But whenever an unfortunate incident happens in West Bengal, you leave no stone unturned to castigate and malign the state government. Your utterances and statements have political overtones which provide support to other political parties to browbeat the government," Banerjee added.
"I have also asked the Director General of Police to immediately proceed and ensure that the perpetrators of the heinous crime are arrested and action taken against them," Banerjee stated in her letter.
The Union Home ministry on Tuesday sought a detailed and factual report "as early as possible" from the Bengal government, according to officials.
In the afternoon, Hakim visited the houses that were set on fire. He also went to the hospital and spoke to those injured. Hakim later claimed that the incident was a conspiracy and demanded a detailed probe and arrest of the culprits.
"Eight people were killed in the incident. Seven dead bodies were recovered from a single house. One among the three injured died today (Tuesday) morning at the hospital," said DGP Manoj Malviya.
Bhadu Sheikh, a panchayat functionary of Barosal village, was attacked with bombs when he was at a shop on NH-60. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Malviya informed that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Around three houses were set on fire, including the house of Sanju Sheikh, which was gutted completely. On Monday night, firefighters had rescued three injured persons and rushed them to a nearby hospital. On Tuesday morning, seven charred bodies were recovered from Sheikh's house.
Meanwhile, one of the injured persons succumbed on Tuesday morning taking the death toll to eight. On Tuesday afternoon, ADG, Western Zone Sanjay Singh reached the spot. Later the SIT members and Malviya himself reached the spot for investigation.
Meanwhile, one of the injured women who is still undergoing treatment at the hospital said a group of people on Monday night started hurling bombs at the houses. Out of fear, the villagers locked the main doors of their houses to stay safe inside. She also claimed that the miscreants threw petrol-like substances on their houses from outside and set them on fire.
To maintain law and order, police pickets have been set up in the village and a massive manhunt is on to nab the suspects. However, a good number of residents have left the village out of fear by Tuesday evening.
