Kolkata: Death toll in the carnage at Bogtui village in Birbhum district of West Bengal rose to 10 with one more woman succumbing to her injuries at a state-run hospital in the district on Sunday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Atchara Bibi. She died at Rampura Medical College & Hospital. According to police records, among those dead so far, eight were women, one man and one was a minor girl.
On March 21, the Trinamool Congress Deputy Chief of Bursal panchayat, Vadu Sheikh was killed first at Bogtui. Soon after that tension broke out there and at least 12 houses were set on fire.
A special investigation team (SIT) of the West Bengal police first took over the investigation. However, there was an appeal at Calcutta High Court demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter.
Currently, following successive orders of the Calcutta High Court, the CBI is currently conducting two parallel investigation — first on the carnage that claimed nine lives, and second on the assassination of Vadu Sheikh.
CBI sleuths conducting the two parallel probes suspect that rivalry over illegal sand mining rampant in West Bengal’s Birbhum district as one of the prime reasons behind the Bogtui carnage. Incidentally, as per preliminary findings of CBI, both the rival gangs were associated with the state’s ruling party, Trinamool Congress.
In January last year, Vadu Sheikh’s elder, Babar Sheikh was also murdered.
Although the case is to be solved, Vadu Sheikh alleged that his rivals like Palash Sheikh and Sona Sheikh played a role in the killings.
(IANS)
