Rampurhat: At least 8 people were charred to death in Rampurhat of Birbhum district on Tuesday night when an irate mob set houses on fire following the killing of TMC Panchayat Deputy Chief Bhadu Shaikh in a bomb attack on Monday evening. According to the reports, 15 people have been detained so far in connection to the incident.
Police patrolling has been beefed up in the village post the incident, while a CID investigation has been initiated to probe the matter. The team, along with the forensic experts will reach the village to get further details and ramp up the investigation. TMC Birbhum district President Anubrata Mondal and Mayor Firhad Hakim are likely to reach the spot.
However, while holding a press briefing here, DGP Manoj Malviya denied any political link to the incident that has happened in Rampurhat. "The death of the locals in fire incident is sad. But this incident has no political connection," he said while confirming the recovery of eight dead bodies so far.
According to the reports of the fire department, at least 5 houses were set on fire during the protests against Shaikh's murder, who died in a bomb attack late night on Monday. Five unidentified bike-borne assailants reportedly threw bombs at Bhadu Shaikh who was standing at the Bogtui crossing with his few friends on Monday. Shaikh suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead at the hospital.
Followed by the murder, a mob forced their way into the village of Bogtui and vandalised the houses of the villagers setting them ablaze on Tuesday, with an intention to avenge Bahadur Shaikh's murder. He was in charge of Barshal village panchayat in the Rampurhat.
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