Family members of Birbhum violence victims. (Express Photo)Birbhum violence case Highlights: Opposition parties BJP and CPI(M) have welcomed the Calcutta High Court’s order handing over the investigation into the Bogtui killings to the CBI. The TMC said that it will offer full cooperation and abide by the Court’s order. A forensic team of the CBI Friday reached Rampurhat to carry out its investigation, news agency ANI reported.
While the state government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter, the HC Friday directed it to hand over the case papers and the accused arrested to CBI. The court has asked the central agency to file a preliminary report by April 7. The HC had taken suo moto cognizance of the incident which left eight dead, following the murder of a deputy gram pradhan associated with the TMC.
On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Bogtui village, where she ensured “speedy justice” to the victims and offered monetary compensation. However, Opposition leaders have accused the Bengal government of a ‘cover up’ and ‘fabrication’.
After local residents complained to CM that local Trinamool Congress block president Anarul Hussain had hatched the conspiracy to set the houses ablaze, she ordered the DGP to arrest him. However, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari tweeted, “Can someone instruct an investigating agency to fabricate a case? Rather than directing the investigating agency to conduct a fair investigation and gather evidence that incriminates the real perpetrators, @MamataOfficial is pronouncing & dictating who are at fault. (sic)”
Villegers gathering in front of Bhadu Sheikh's house. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
The National Commission for Minorities will seek a report from the West Bengal chief secretary over the Birbhum violence that claimed eight lives earlier this week, following which it will send a team to the state, its officiating chairperson Syed Shahezadi said on Friday. Eight people, including two children, were charred to death in Bogtui village of the state's Birbhum district in the suspected fallout of a TMC panachayat official's murder. Asked about the issue at a press conference, Shahezadi said, "What is happening in Bengal is saddening. It is a matter of Constitution, violation of human rights. Be it any party or any ideology, humanity should not be set aside." --PTI
TMC General Secretary Kunal Ghosh stated that the state government will cooperate with the CBI in its probe into the Birbhum violence. However, he added, "we've some questions".
"People rejected BJP in West Bengal polls, so they're trying a different way with a larger conspiracy. BJP uses CBI and ED (central agencies) for politics," Ghosh was quoted as saying by ANI.
BJP MP Roopa Ganguly broke down in the Rajya Sabha while speaking about the Birbhum incident which led to the deaths of eight people. Stating that mass killing was carried out in the state, she said West Bengal was no longer liveable.
Family members of those targeted in Bogtui village told The Indian Express that the women and children who were killed had huddled together in one room but the assailants “still set it on fire”.
The family members also alleged that ten of their kin were killed on Monday night, and not eight as claimed by the police and that even those eight bodies were not handed over to them but buried by police late on Tuesday night in the village.
According to the police and local residents, the killings were triggered by the murder of Bhadu Sheikh, the deputy pradhan, in Rampurhat on Monday evening, leading to at least eight houses in the area being attacked and set on fire. Read more
BJP MP Dilip Ghosh, welcoming the Calcutta High Court order said, "Everyone demanded CBI inquiry. Everyone knows that Mamata Banerjee constituted SIT to suppress the case."
"Innocent people have been murdered there but she is not accepting her government's failure," Ghosh was quoted as saying by ANI.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned briefly during the morning session on Friday amid an uproar after BJP MP Roopa Ganguly raised the Birbhum incident in West Bengal, terming the incident a case of mass murder.
This led to a protest by members of the TMC, the ruling party in West Bengal, and some of them trooped in the Well of the House.
Speaking to ANI later, Ganguly said, "People can't speak in West Bengal. The government is protecting the murderers. There is no other state where government kills people after winning elections. We are human beings. We don't do stone-hearted politics."
Central Bureau of Investigation's forensic team reached Rampurhat Friday to investigate the killings in Birbhum district.
Following the Calcutta HC's order handing over the investigation into the Birbhum killings to the CBI, the ruling TMC said the state government, so far, had been doing its bit to unravel the truth.
"The court has given an order and we will abide by it. All cooperation will be extended to the CBI. The state government had taken enough action to probe the matter so far. Several arrests have also been made. It is for the CBI to look into the case now," TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said. (PTI)
Opposition parties on Friday welcomed the high court order for CBI investigation into the violence that claimed eight lives in Bengal's Birbhum district earlier this week, alleging that the state police, acting on the behest of the TMC government, was trying to hush up the matter.
"We welcome the court's decision. Only a CBI probe can bring out the truth as the police, acting as agents of the ruling party, were trying to suppress the matter," state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said.
Echoing him, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said his party was hopeful that the CBI would carry out a fair probe.
"We wanted a court-monitored CBI probe into the Birbhum incident. The state government had been trying to shield the culprits," he claimed. (PTI)
Handing over the investigation into the Birbhum violence, the Calcutta High Court directed the state government “to extend full cooperation to CBI in carrying out the further investigation”.
“We are of the opinion that facts and circumstances of the case demand that in the interest of justice and to instil confidence in the society and to have fair investigation to dig out the truth it is necessary to hand over the investigation to the CBI. Accordingly, we direct the State Government to forthwith hand over the investigation of the case to CBI. We also direct the State authorities to extend full cooperation to CBI in carrying out the further investigation. In view of this order, the State police authorities or SIT formed by the State will not carry any further investigation in the matter from the time the same is handed over to CBI,” read the order. Read more
Welcoming the court order, the BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted, “Grateful to the Calcutta HC for ordering CBI probe in the Rampurhat massacre. Mamata Banerjee’s admin and SIT constituted by the WB Govt inspired no confidence whatsoever. It seemed more like a means to cover up the crime and protect TMC leaders involved in the ghastly killings.”
The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered a CBI investigation into the Bogtui killings. While the state government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter, the HC directed it to hand over case papers and arrested people to CBI.
The court has asked the CBI to file a progress report by April 7.
The HC had taken suo moto cognizance of the incident.
While visiting Bogtui village, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of the victims and job for a member from the CM’s quota. “Those who get government jobs will have to work on a temporary basis for a year. They will be absorbed as permanent staff thereafter. Also, they will not be posted in a far-off place,” the CM said.
The state government, she announced, will give Rs 2 lakh each to the families to rebuild the houses that were gutted in fire.
She distributed 10 cheques of Rs 1 lakh each. Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured and Rs 1 lakh to those who have more than 60 percent burn injuries, she added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited Birbhum district’s Bogtui village, where eight persons were charred to death after their houses were set on fire following the murder of a deputy village pradhan, and met with the victims’ families.
The CM asked Director General of Police (DGP) Manoj Malaviya to start raids all over the state to recover illegal arms and ammunition. After local residents complained to CM that local Trinamool Congress block president Anarul Hussain had hatched the conspiracy to set the houses ablaze, she ordered the DGP to arrest him.
“I will ensure that the police carry out an impartial investigation and stringent action is taken against the culprits,” said Banerjee, while expressing grief at the incident. Read more
It’s a story of rags to riches to murder to killing — and it illustrates how deep the politics-crime nexus has entrenched itself in rural Bengal allegedly feeding on the patronage of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
At its centre is Bhadu Sheikh, the 38-year-old TMC deputy pradhan of Barsal Gram Panchayat, a resident of Bagtui village, whose murder set off the retaliatory killing in which eight persons, including six women and a child, were charred to death, all relatives of one of his associates he had fallen out with. Read Ravik Bhattacharya and Atri Mitra's full report here
The BJP on Thursday slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal for allegedly “fabricating a case” over the Birbhum killings.
The statement came after the police arrested TMC’s Rampurhat block president Anarul Hossain in connection with the case at the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Read more
Leaders of opposition parties in West Bengal on Thursday visited Bogtui in Birbhum district where eight people were charred to death as their houses were set on fire in retaliation to the murder of a deputy panchayat pradhan after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left the village.
State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury, whose car was allegedly stopped more than once before reaching Bogtui, alleged that several bodies had disappeared from the site of violence. He sat on a dharna on Sriniketan Road in protest against the police action. He said, “She (CM) alleged a big conspiracy behind this incident and that is why she has instructed the police to take strict action. The bodies of two children have gone missing. The CM is trying to suppress the facts.”
TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh Thursday said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment proves that he, too, believes that it is the state government that should be conducting a probe into the matter. The demand for imposition of President's Rule by the BJP doesn't stand anymore." Ghosh, however, wondered why the PM "chose to maintain silence on similar incidents" in Uttar Pradesh "What happened in Birbhum is condemnable. No one can support such violence. The PM, too, has condemned it. But we wonder why he maintains silence when carnages and mass murders take place in the BJP-ruled states. Has he ever condemned such incidents in Hathras and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh? The answer is no," The TMC leader said at a press meet here.
Modi, on Wednesday, described the killings in Birbhum as "heinous", and said the culprits should not be forgiven. He hoped that the state government would take all necessary steps to punish the perpetrators. The PM also promised all help to Bengal in bringing the perpetrators to justice. --PTI
The Birbhum Police on Thursday sent Rampurhat sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Shayan Ahmed on 'compulsory waiting', a day after eight people were burnt alive in the district's Bogtui village, a senior officer said.
The action came hours after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lambasted a few police officers in Rampurhat, stating that "duty negligence" probably led to the incident. --PTI
A fact-finding committee of the BJP visited Bogtui village in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Thursday, where eight people were burnt alive earlier this week, and spoke to the locals as well as relatives of the victims there. The team, comprising former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brij Lal, Mumbai ex-police commissioner Satya Pal Singh and Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar, assured all help to the families of those killed in the violence that broke out following a TMC panchayat official's murder. "We have come here to witness the situation in the aftermath of the mass murder. This (TMC) government has lost its moral right to govern. What happened in Bogtui is a shame for humanity," Majumdar told reporters after visiting the village. --PTI
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury Thursday condemned the killing of eight people in Birbhum district of West Bengal and said this cult of violence “sponsored” by the TMC and the BJP must end. Speaking to reporters at a press conference at the residence of party colleague M Y Tarigami, he said: “We strongly condemn it. This cult of violence is sponsored both by the BJP and the TMC. The BJP is doing exactly the same thing in Tripura against the CPI(M). This cult of violence and terror in politics has to end.”
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday issued a notice to West Bengal government, its state police chief in connection with killing of eight people at Bogtui village in Birbhum district, PTI reported.
"CM Mamata Banerjee wants to buy dead bodies by providing money & job to families of deceased. There'll be many such incidents if govt won't look into root causes. She can't control the law & order situation. We want an impartial probe by CBI & NIA," BJP's Sukanta Majumdar said.
West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar condemned the Birbhum violence and said he couldn't recall any incident as horrifying as this in last 10-20 years in Bengal. "CM Mamata Banerjee should have come earlier. We can't recall if something as horrific as this (Birbhum violence) had happened in the last 10-20 years," he sais. Echoing Vijayvargiya's words, he said, "These killings resemble the barbarism of the middle ages, people were locked & set ablaze alive."
Vijayvargiya claimed that there is a nexus of criminals, officials and political party instead of democracy in the state. "Dissidents against govt are either manhandled or are murdered. Governor is also treated in this manner.If situation aggravates like this, we'll demand President's rule," he added while speaking to ANI.
BJP leader Kailasj Vijayvargiya on Thursday said West Bengal is in a state on anarchy. "After the Assembly elections in 2021, BJP workers' houses were set ablaze. These killings (Birbhum violence) are happening under the aegis of govt. People are living in an atmosphere of terror," ANI quoted him as saying.
Soon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered arrest of Trinamool Rampurhat-1 block president Anarul Sheikh, he was arrested from Tarapith on Thursday. She also lashed out at the police, stating that the “incident could have been avoided if the police had gone immediately”. “The DIB (District Intelligence Bureau) and IC (inspector in charge) did not fulfil their responsibility. Action must be taken against those who knowingly did not perform their duty,” said Banerjee.
"I've demanded that Section 355 of Constitution be invoked in state. We have also demanded a Court-monitored CBI probe. Bengal CM had come here on a picnic today. She came on a helicopter, held meeting, had food and then left. She should have listened to the locals," ANI quoted Adhit Ranjan Chowdhury as saying in Birbhum.
Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury on Thursday said the violence of Birbhum is a 'living example of medieval barbarism'. 'There's 'danav raj' instead of 'manav raj' here. CM has destroyed the state. Connivance b/w Police&TMC is looting the state. No other state is facing a situation like that in Bengal,' news agency ANI quoted Bengal Congress chief AR Chowdhury as saying in Rampurhat, Birbhum.
A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday and demanded the removal of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, describing him as a “threat to parliamentary democratic system” even as political heat over the Birbhum killings continued to rise.
In a letter to Shah, signed by the TMC’s Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha floor leaders, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien respectively, the party claimed the “dangerous, inhuman and brutal” killings of eight people in the incident was not an outcome of any political confrontation. Read more
A 13-member TMC delegation led by Derek O' Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in view of Birbhum violence in West Bengal.
"National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson Justice Arun Mishra India has taken suo motu cognisance of the Birbhum killings in West Bengal. Probe would be carried out by NHRC team there," said NHRC officials.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday visited the Bogtui village in the state’s Birbhum district, where eight people were killed, and lashed out at the police, stating that the “incident could have been avoided if the police had gone immediately”. “The DIB (District Intelligence Bureau) and IC (inspector in charge) did not fulfil their responsibility. Action must be taken against those who knowingly did not perform their duty,” said Banerjee.
The eight people, including women and children, were killed after at least eight houses in the area were attacked and set on fire following the murder of deputy pradhan Bhadu Sheikh in Bogtui under Rampurhat on Monday evening.
“Bhadu Sheikh’s murder is very unfortunate and what happened since then is highly reprehensible,” added Banerjee as she asked the police to arrest Anarul Shiekh, the Rampurhat 1 block president. Local residents complained against Anarul, accusing him of conspiring the Bogtui firing incident. Read more
In Bogtui, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday met the families of the victims and announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for rebuilding the scorched homes. Apart from this, she announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of the victims, and Rs 50,000 each to those injured.
The family members of the victims of the Birbhum violence. Express Photos by Partha Paul
Apart from the Rs 2 lakh compensation announced for rebuilding houses, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said the government will provide Rs 5 lakhs to the next of the kin of the victims, and Rs 50,000 each to those injured.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday called the violence in Birbhum a "shameful event" and an "indelible scar on governance".
"The burning of people alive in a democracy in this manner is very painful. I appeal to the government to learn the lessons rather than offering defence," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "We've said that Governor of West Bengal should be removed, in view of the Rampurhat, Birbhum incident."
"His work is against our constitutional system. Parliamentary democratic system is under threat," the TMC MP was quoted as saying by ANI.
"We've given a copy of the letter by the CM for (removal of) Governor to the Home Min... Our CM (Mamata Banerjee) is catering to the situation in a fine manner. 21 persons have been arrested so far, 15 police officials have been asked to go on leave. No guilty person will be spared," he added.
Speaking to the victims of the Birbhum violence, CM Mamata Banerjee said, "You have lost a family member, but I am heart-broken".
She added, "Police will ensure that the strictest punishment is handed out to culprits responsible for Rampurhat carnage." The case filed before court should be water-tight, Banerjee was quoted as saying by PTI.
Revising her earlier statement, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the government will provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to rebuiled the houses in Birbhum's Bogtui village.
Mamata Banerjee announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for rebuilding the scorched homes and promised jobs to the victims' families.
"I want to set an example by ensuring speedy justice to the victims," she added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Bogtui village Thursday and interacted with the family of the victims.
While visiting the families of the victims of the violence in Birbhum, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she wants action against officials who haven't discharged their duties.
"Had the police taken action on time, all of this could have been avoided," Banerjee said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has arrived in Bogtui village in Rampurhat. She is expected to visit the family of the slain TMC leader.
The Indian Youth Congres (IYC) has filed a complaint with the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) against the West Bengal Governor over the Birbhum violence.
"As usual you (Mamata Banerjee) have taken accusatory stance (in your March 22 communication) at my restrained just reaction to grisly carnage, worst in recent memory at Rampurhat, where reportedly the entire family of Sanju Sheikh-six women and two children were burnt alive in Bogtoi village," Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said in a tweet Wednesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asked Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to refrain from making “unwarranted statements”. The strong reaction from the chief minister came hours after Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at the state administration over the Birbhum incident, which he described as “horrifying violence and arson orgy”.
Security has been ramped up in Rampurhat ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s scheduled visit to Bogtui later during the day.
She will be hold meetings with senior police officers including Director General of Police Manoj Malaviya before visiting Bogtui. Later, she may also visit Rampurhat hospital to meet the injured people, PTI has reported.
CCTVs have been set up around the helipad where the chief minister's helicopter will land, a senior police officer said.
Expressing his condolences to the families of Tuesday’s Birbhum violence victims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hopes the state government will get the perpetrators punished. “Main hinsak vaardaat par dukh vyakt karta hoon, apni samvedna vyakt karta hoon, aur asha karta hoon ki rajya sarkar Bengal ki mahaan dharti par aisa jaghanya paap karne waalon ko zaroor saza dilwayegi (I express my condolences on the violent incident in Birbhum, and hope the state government will get those who committed such a heinous sin on the great land of Bengal punished),” he said, while digitally inaugurating ‘Biplobi Bharat Gallery’ at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial Hall on Wednesday evening. Read more
The Calcutta High Court has sought a status report on the Birbhum violence from the West Bengal government by Thursday 2 pm. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, taking up a suo motu petition and a set of PILs, directed the installation of CCTV cameras in the presence of the district judge and 24×7 CCTV surveillance of the scene of occurrence.
The court also directed a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bogtui village where at least eight people were charred to death. Read more
With the Calcutta High Court directing the West Bengal police to submit a report on the killing of eight people in Birbhum following a local TMC leader’s murder, and the BJP taking aim at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the incident, the family members of those targeted in Bogtui village told The Indian Express that the women and children who were killed had huddled together in one room but the assailants “still set it on fire”.
The family members also alleged that ten of their kin were killed on Monday night, and not eight as claimed by the police and that even those eight bodies were not handed over to them but buried by police late on Tuesday night in the village. Read the story here
A delegation of nearly 55 BJP MLAs visited Bagtui village in Birbhum district where eight people, including women and children, were charred to death after their houses were set on fire a day before.
The legislators led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari inspected the burnt houses in the village. Demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the CBI into the incident, Adhikari claimed that chief minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the scene of crime to destroy evidence.
The opposition leader said he had written a letter to the Union home secretary on the issue. “It is a very unfortunate incident, a genocide. The SIT is part of the state police. The President’s rule is the only way to save Bengal,” Adhikari said, blaming the CM for the incident. Read more
"I will go there (Bogtui village) Thursday. I would have gone there today (Wedensday), but a few political parties are on their way to the place. It would get late by the time they return. I don't want to visit the place when they (opposition leaders) are around. I don't want to get into any quarrel," Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
"Let them relish ‘lyangcha' and then get on with their journey to Rampurhat," Banerjee quipped.
Referring to past incidents of violence in other states, she said that her party MPs were stopped at the airport in Assam, where they had gone to protest NRC implementation, and entry wasn't allowed in UP's Hathras and Unnao (where gang-rape cases occurred), too, but her government would never do the same. "This is Bengal, not UP. We allowed everyone to visit Birbhum," she said.
"Not justifying the Birbhum killings, but such incidents are more frequent in UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan," Banerjee said. (PTI)