TMC leader's murder, 8 burnt alive in West Bengal: 10 developments

The incident took place hours after the murder of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader on Monday. So far, 11 people have been identified and arrested in the matter, while the further investigation is underway.

Rampurhat: Eight people including two children were charred to death after multiple houses were gutted in fire by a mob in Rampurhat in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Tuesday. The incident took place hours after the murder of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader on Monday. So far, 11 people have been identified and arrested in the matter, while the further investigation is underway.

Here are the key developments in the matter so far:

1. The houses were set aflame by an irate mob in an attempt to avenge the murder of TMC panchayat deputy chief of Barshal village, Bhadu Sheikh. At around 8.30 pm on Monday, five unidentified bike-borne assailants reportedly threw bombs at Bahadur Shaikh who was standing at the Bogtui crossing with few of his friends. Shaikh suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
2. A few hours after the murder, a mob forced its way into the village of Bogtui and vandalised the houses, setting them ablaze with an intention to avenge Bahadur Shaikh's murder. The fire officials recovered seven dead bodies from the site of accident, while one injured person was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The DGP has not yet confirmed any political backdrop to the incident. "We are still investigating whether or not the incident is related to the death of the TMC panchayat leader," he said.
3. There have been discrepancies in the number of dead bodies recovered, as some fire brigade officials had claimed the recovery of 10 dead bodies. Responding to a query on this, one of the top police officials clarified that along with seven dead, three injured were taken to the hospital, out of which two survived and one died - keeping the death toll at 8.
4. The sub divisional police officer (SDPO) and in-charge of Rampurhat police station has been removed from active policing duty, while the police patrolling in the village has been beefed up post the incident. A special investigation team headed by ADG (CID) Gyanwant Singh constituted to probe the matter, along with the forensic experts, has ramped up the investigation. TMC Birbhum district President Anubrata Mondal and Mayor Firhad Hakim have also reached the site of accident.
5. The incident has caused a political stir with the opposition parties BJP and CPI(M) alleging that the TMC is trying to divert attention from the incident, with the officials not being transparent about facts. "We condemn such an attempt by the TMC government. The lawlessness in Bengal is virtually pushing the state towards President's Rule," state BJP leader Manoj Tigga said. CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim said the cold-blooded killing of so many people by goons of the TMC is condemnable. Meanwhile, the TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh rubbished the allegations, claiming the blaze was accidental, and that the administration has already done the needful.
6. Subsequently, some pro-BJP lawyers have hinted at a petition to be filed at the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday seeking a judicial enquiry and a CBI probe into the matter. Advocate Tarun Jyoti Tiwari from the BJP Lawyers' Cell said that the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj has granted him and 9 other lawyers the permission to file the petition, which they plan on doing by Wednesday.
7. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee alleged 'a larger conspiracy to malign the image of the state'. The government will also provide relief and rehabilitation to those affected as the efforts to restore normalcy in the area are already underway, he further informed.
8. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar described the death of eight people at Rampurhat as horrific and claimed that the state is in the grip of a culture of violence and lawlessness. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted to his statement in a letter saying, "Your utterances and statements have political overtones which provide support to other political parties to browbeat the government" she wrote in a letter addressed to the Governor.
9. The Union Home Ministry sought a report from the West Bengal government. A fact-finding central team may be sent to the state soon to assess the situation, but there was no official confirmation about it yet. The ministry asked the West Bengal government to maintain law and order and ensure security of common people in view of the killings. The state government has been asked to send a detailed factual report on the killings as early as possible.
10. The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari called for President's rule in the state given the grim law and order situation across the state. "The Centre should intervene and use Article 356 (President's Rule) or Article 355 to bring the situation under control in Bengal," he said. The State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury reiterated the same. "The number of killings will go up in the coming days under the leadership of Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has unbottled a ghost. It will be impossible for her to bottle the ghost again," Chowdhury said.