Centre seeks report from WB govt over Birbhum violence that killed 8 including children
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West Bengal: Following the horrifying tragedy in West Bengal's Birbhum district where 8 people were burnt to death, the Centre on Tuesday sought a detailed report on the incident from the state government in 72 hours.
As per reports, the BJP is also sending a fact-finding team to probe the biggest instance of violence since Mamata Banerjee's mega victory last year.
Nine BJP MPs from the state met home minister Amit Shah and sought his intervention and action in the incident. A CID team has reached the spot, and ANI input said.
Nearly a dozen houses were set ablaze in Rampurhat village in Bengal's Birbhum district on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including two children. The incident took place soon after the alleged murder of TMC panchayat leader Bhadu Pradhan, who was attacked with crude bombs by unknown assailants the day before.
According to state police, the charred bodies of seven people, two of them children, were recovered from a house this morning. An eighth person died on way to the hospital. Eleven people have been arrested over the violence, the state police said.
A Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the matter. Bengal's top cop Manoj Malaviya said, "We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the panchayat deputy chief of neighbouring Barshal village".
Two officers of the local police -- The Sub-Divisional Police Officer and the Circle Inspector of Rampurhat -- have been removed.
State party chief Sukanta Majumdar, who led the delegation, will be part of the fact-finding team formed by BJP chief JP Nadda. The team includes four former police officers.
The Trinamool Congress has denied any involvement in the violence. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "We condemn the deaths that seem to have happened due to an accidental fire. It was our party leader who was killed last night".
The matter had ripples in the state assembly, where BJP leaders demanded a statement from the Chief Minister in the house. Twenty-two BJP legislators staged a walkout and party leader Suvendu Adhikari, in a series of tweets, urged the Centre to intervene.