8 charred bodies recovered from burnt houses in Bengal village

Kolkata: In a violent carnage at least eight persons were burnt to death after their homes were torched by a gang of miscreants late on Monday night in Birbhum of West Bengal hours after the murder of a gram panchayat functionary of the ruling Trinamul Congress in the district.

The massacre, which has put the Mamata Banerjee government in a tight spot, took place at Boktui village in Rampurhat sub division.

DGP Manoj Malaviya said seven charred bodies were recovered from one of the burnt houses, while one injured person died in hospital. 

“The situation is now under control and a police picket has been established in the village since last night. We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the panchayat deputy chief of Barshal village,” he said.

Azizul Haque, an official of the Rampurhat fire station, told the media that three charred bodies were recovered on Monday night while seven more were found at a house on Tuesday morning.

Superintendent of Police (Birbhum) Nagendra Nath Tripathi who inspected the area in the morning along with a large contingent of cops however confirmed the death of only seven villagers. Several other houses were gutted during the night long arson.

Violence struck Boktui village following the killing of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh who was the Upa Pradhan (Deputy Head) of Boroshal gram panchayat at Rampurhat Block I.

On Monday evening he was at a tea stall. Suddenly a gang of four miscreants travelling on motorcycles with their faces covered hurled bombs on him. With fatal injuries Sheikh was rushed was to Rampurhat Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Downplaying the carnage, TMC district president Anubrata Mondal claimed, "A fire broke out n three-four houses due to an explosion in a TV set. Seven people died. Fire brigade were pressed into service immediately to douse the flames. This is what I learnt in the morning. The police are investigating the incident." He however suspected a link between the massacre and the TMC leader's killing.