Bengal Arson: 2 Kids Among 8 Killed in Birbhum, Amit Shah Seeks Report in 72 Hours; CID to Probe | Top Updates

Non-TMC parties in West Bengal are in uproar over the violence in Birbhum district’s Rampurhat, in which eight persons, including two children, were charred to death on Tuesday due to alleged intraparty feud in the ruling Trinamool Congress. While the BJP has formed a five-member fact-finding committee to look into the incident, union home minister Amit Shah has asked for a report from the state government in the next 72 hours.

Here are the top updates in the Birbhum violence incident, triggered soon after the alleged murder of a local TMC leader:

1. BJP forms 5-member teamNational president JP Nadda formed a fact-finding team of the BJP to look into the Birbhum incident. The opposition party has also sought the imposition of President’s Rule in the state. A group of MLAs led by opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari will also make an attempt to reach ‘Ground Zero’. The BJP fact-finding team, meanwhile, will be reaching Kolkata on Wednesday, and will start for Rampurhat on Thursday.
2. Amit Shah demands report in 72 hoursUnion home minister Amit Shah has sought a report from the West Bengal government in 72 hours. The Bengal government may submit the report by Wednesday. West Bengal chief secretary HK Dwivedi and director general of police Manoj Malaviya will apprise the ministry of home affairs of the case. The report is expected to list all facts, action taken so far and line of investigation
3. CID team to conduct probeA team of crime investigation department (CID) is in West Bengal to investigate the Birbhum incident. The state government has formed a three-member special investigation team (SIT) headed by ADG (CID) Gyanwant Singh for the probe.
4. The toll, how it unfoldedTwo children are among eight persons charred to death in the Birbhum incident. Eight houses caught fire in Bogtui village near Rampurhat town of Birbhum district. The incident took place soon after the alleged murder of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh, deputy chief of the local panchayat, Malaviya said. Police officers and firefighters reached the spot. “The situation is now under control, and a police picket was posted in the village. 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,” Malaviya said. The top police officer further said seven bodies were recovered after the blaze was brought under control while three injured persons were rescued, one of whom died in a hospital.
5. Mamata slams WB governor DhankharChief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar after he said the state was in the grip of a culture of “violence and lawlessness”, describing the deaths in Birbhum as “horrifying”. In the absence of a formal statement by Banerjee concerning the incident, this was the only public statement she made on the day, requesting Dhankhar to refrain from making unwarranted statements and alleged that his comments have “political overtones”.
6. Political stormArch-rivals BJP and Congress now have similar demands in West Bengal. Both parties have urged for the imposition of Article 355 of the Constitution in the TMC-ruled state. Opposition parties have claimed that the TMC is behind the incident, a charge denied by the ruling party. The BJP raised the issue in the West Bengal assembly on Tuesday and staged a walkout. The party MLAs termed the incident “middle-age barbarism” while demanding a statement from chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the cause of the violence and the steps being taken over it. The party also demanded the resignation of Banerjee. State BJP president Sukanta Majumder said Banerjee had lost her moral right to be the CM. “We are demanding the resignation of chief minister and  state home minister Mamata Banerjee. It is not clear whether the state government is running a circus or a government,” Majumder said.
7. What the TMC is sayingThe TMC has sent a team of three MLAs headed by minister Firhad Hakim to the village to assess the situation.  TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the incident had nothing to do with politics. “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,” Kunal Ghosh said in a tweet in Bangla.
8. Statewide protest, Left gets into action modeThe BJP has also called for a statewide protest, while a team of the Left Front, headed by CPM leaders Biman Bose and Mohammed Salim, is also to reach the scene of violence.
9. FIR filed

   An FIR has been lodged in connection with the murder of Bhadu Sheikh. Malviya said it is yet to be ascertained whether the houses were set afire in retaliation to the killing of the leader. The DGP said 11 people had been arrested so far.

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