Birbhum Killings: Police recover crude bombs buried near house of accused

Sheikh was deputy chief of Barashal gram panchayat.

On Sunday, a team of police officers, accompanied by a bomb squad, unearthed the explosives that were kept in a plastic drum and buried beside the house of Palash Sheikh, who is one of the six persons arrested for the murder of Bhadu Sheikh.

The squad then defused the bombs in a controlled manner in a field, a senior police officer said.

According to police, they received a tip-off on Saturday that a huge cache of bombs were buried near the house of Palash Sheikh. On Sunday, police cordoned off the area and started searching for bombs.

“After retrieving the bombs hidden in the ground, it was defused in an open field at Chandankuntha village. We are checking whether the bombs have been hidden anywhere else in the village,” said an official.

While Bhadu Sheikh’s murder is being investigated by West Bengal Police, the killing of eight persons is being probed by the CBI on the direction of the Calcutta High Court.

So far, 22 people have been held for the killing of the villagers, while four have been arrested for Sheikh’s murder.

Meanwhile, CBI officials questioned the family members of the victims of the Bogtui killings.

The two were asked about the villager’s allegations that petrol bombs were brought in a van, sources said, adding that CBI officials also questioned two residents of Bogtui village.

A team of CBI officials also visited Kumadda village and conducted a forensic examination of a van and a motorbike.