Birbhum violence : As BJP delegation meets Shah, MHA seeks report from West Bengal Govt

The Ministry of Home Affairs has demanded a detailed report from the West Bengal (WB) Government on the killings in the Birbhum district, in an incident of arson that resulted 8 people, who were charred to death in their homes on the night of March 22. 

The move comes following the meeting of a 9 member delegation of BJP leaders from WB, meeting Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking his intervention and action against the perpetrators involved in the crime. "MHA has sought a detailed fact report from West Bengal government over Birbhum incident which claimed lives of eight people after houses were set on fire," MHA officials told ANI.

Birbhum killings: 3 member SIT formed

In an incident of arson, over 10-12 houses were set on fire by the mob and 10-12 charred bodies were recovered by the police on March 22. The incident was triggered by the killing of a TMC leader - Bahadur Sheikh, in a bomb attack late on March 22. He was the deputy Chief of Barshal gram panchayat and a resident of Bogtui. The DGP, WB, Manoj Malviya informed, 11 people have been arrested so far. 

After the incident, the WB CM Mamta Banerjee ordered the constitution of a 3 member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the incident, in which 11 people have been arrested so far.

BJP and TMC trade charges

BJP's President J P Nadda condemned the killings and said the Mamta Banerjee Govt has lost the control over law and order in the state. BJP's Gaurav Bhatia accused, there were attempts to stop the fire fighters from dousing the fire. "Earlier a TMC leader was killed in West Bengal's Birbhum district. But what happened after that murder cannot be described in words. They are very sad, worrying. Democracy is being blown up in West Bengal...A fire has killed 10 people, but they call it a small fire, and that also before any investigation begins," Bhatia said. 

The leader of opposition in WB assembly Suvendu Adhikari has demanded the imposition of the president's rule in the state following the incident and the string of political killings in the last few days. He said, over 21 people have been killed in separate incidents of political violence in the past few days.

Downplaying the incident, TMC's General Secretary Kunal Ghosh cited the panchayat deputy chief, who was murdered was a well know person, which triggered the violence, "Deaths of the locals in fire incident is sad. But this incident has no political connection. This is a local village dispute. The panchayat deputy chief who was murdered was a well-known person and his death has angered the villagers, leading to the violent protest. The fire incident took place at night but cops and fire brigade took immediate action."

IMAGE : ANI