[ad_1]
A day after the Calcutta high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the Birbhum massacre in which eight people were burnt alive, sleuths of the central agency started their investigation on Saturday.
A team comprising around 30 officials from the CBI’s Special Crime Branch and led by Deputy Inspector General Akhilesh Singh reached Rampurhat. The team first went to Rampurhat police station to collect the case diary and other documents from the police related to the case before reaching Bogtui village where the massacre took place on Monday night.
Eight people, including six women, were burnt alive at Bogtui following the killing of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader Bhadu Sheikh. Four people, who sustained burn injuries, are undergoing treatment at a state-run hospital in Rampurhat.
CBI sleuths along with experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory also visited the crime spot on Saturday to collect samples.
A CBI official said that 3D scanners – a high-tech gadget that allow investigators to recreate the entire crime scene in the courtrooms and help in building the case – were being used. They also had discussions with some senior police officers including the district superintendent.
“The police are cooperating. Investigation is going on,” Singh told media persons in Birbhum.
“We saw the officials entering the houses which were set on fire. They even went to the terraces and made circles of the house. They were doing videography, clicking pictures and taking measurements with measuring tapes,” said a villager who was present at the spot.
At least five public interest litigations were filed by various petitioners seeking an independent probe into the incident; while the Calcutta high court on Wednesday had taken suo moto cognizance of case.
On Friday a division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava handed over the case to the CBI saying: “In the interest of justice and to instil confidence in society, and to have fair investigation to dig out the truth, it is necessary to hand over the investigation of the case to CBI.”
The CBI will also speak with the fire brigade officials who dosed the flams that day, eyewitnesses and victims of the families who lost their kin in the fire.
Even though the Mamata Banerjee-administration had set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident, the court expressed dissatisfaction over the Special Investigation Team’s progress in the case.
“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had taken a series of steps starting from arresting own party workers, taking action against police officials and giving compensation to the victims. But still the case was handed over to the CBI. There is a public perception that CBI is controlled by a particular political party. In the past the agency has failed to solve multiple cases. But still we have said that TMC will cooperate. However, if the agency tries to suppress the deep-rooted conspiracy, then TMC won’t sit silent,” said Santanu Sen, TMC MP.
The court had ordered the SIT to just hand over case papers to the federal investigation agency along with the accused and suspects who have been arrested. At least 21 people, including a TMC block chief, have been arrested in the case.
“We are cooperating,” Bharat Lal Meena, IG Burdwan Range, told media persons.
The Bharatiya Janata Party held a rally in Rampurhat and started a two-day sit-in demonstration outside the SDO’s office against the Birbhum massacre. It was led by Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the state Legislative Assembly.
“We will urge the CBI not just to arrest the assailants but also those persons, who made the phone calls that day. The CBI should first check the call records of Anubrata Mondol, the district chief of TMC. The agency should also make public how many times the state home minister (Mamata Banerjee) made calls that day and what instructions she had given. There should be an impartial probe and the truth should be uncovered. We won’t let go of this issue,” Adhikari said.
Mondol refused to take calls despite repeated attempts.
The ruling TMC, however, hit back saying that the BJP needs such a gruesome incident to hide the party’s organizational failure and to spread propaganda.
“The BJP has no connection with the people of West Bengal. Feuds are going on among the innumerable factions within the party. Hence, they need such an unfortunate and gruesome incident to hide their failure and spread their propaganda,” said Kunal Ghosh, spokesperson of the TMC
“The TMC’s cover has been blown. I don’t think they will cooperate with the CBI. So, this would be a challenge for the CBI too,” said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.
[ad_2]
Source link