Family members of Bhadu Sheikh, the TMC Panchayat leader whose killing on Monday is suspected to have sparked off the attack with petrol bombs on some 10 houses in Bogtui village on the outskirts of Rampurhat town, claimed that Sheikh’s sons were among those arrested.
At least 22 people have been arrested so far in connection with violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district that claimed eight lives, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.
Family members of Bhadu Sheikh, the TMC Panchayat leader whose killing on Monday is suspected to have sparked off the attack with petrol bombs on some 10 houses in Bogtui village on the outskirts of Rampurhat town, claimed that Sheikh’s sons were among those arrested.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, describing the killings in Birbhum a day before, as “heinous”, said the culprits should not be forgiven. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would on Thursday visit the Bogtui village to take stock of the situation. Describing the incident as “unfortunate”, she said, adding, “It was an attempt by the BJP, Left and the Congress to malign our government… Strict action will be taken against all those responsible for the Birbhum incident, irrespective of their (political) colour.
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bogtui village in Bengal’s Birbhum district, where at least eight people were charred to death in the suspected fallout of a TMC panchayat official’s murder.
The court asked the state government to produce the case diary/report in the case before it by 2 pm on Thursday, when the matter will be taken up for hearing again. It directed the state to ensure that evidence at the place of occurrence remains intact. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, taking up a suo motu petition and a set of PILs seeking an independent probe into the incident, ordered immediate installation of CCTV cameras covering all angles of the crime scene in the presence of district judge, Purba Bardhaman, and recordings be done until further orders.
The bench, also comprising Justice R Bharadwaj, directed a team of CFSL in Delhi to visit the place of incident and collect samples for examination without any delay. It asked the DGP to ensure safety of witnesses, including that of a minor boy injured in the arson, in consultation with the district judge, Purba Bardhaman.
The bench directed that any further post- mortem examination of bodies connected to the incident be video recorded and asked the government to state in its report whether post-mortems done so far were videographed or not.
