Rampurhat (Kolkata): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday reached Bogtui village, where eight people were burnt alive earlier this week, and spoke with the family members of those killed. She took a helicopter from Dumurjola Stadium in Howrah and landed on a helipad near the village amid tight security. She went to Bogtui village and spoke with the family members of those killed.
The chief minister also separately spoke with the family members of slain local TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh. One of his family members fell ill while describing their ordeal to Banerjee. Taking a tough stance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said suspects of the Rampurhat killings will have to be hunted down and arrested unless they surrender, and asserted that police would ensure the strictest punishment for the culprits. She promised permanent government jobs to members of the 10 affected families.
"Police will ensure strictest punishment is handed out to culprits responsible for the Rampurhat carnage. The case filed before the court should be water-tight," she said. The chief minister announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of the victims, and Rs 2 lakh each for rebuilding the damaged houses. Those injured will be provided Rs 50,000 each, she added.
"Police has been ordered to throw a dragnet to unearth secret caches of illicit firearms and bombs across Bengal," Banerjee said. Eight people, including two children, were charred to death as nearly a dozen huts were set ablaze in Birbhum district early Tuesday in a suspected fallout of the murder of a ruling TMC panchayat official.
Also read: Birbhum killings reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps, Mamata is "nirmam": BJP
PTI
