Prime minister Narendra Modi has said that he hopes that the criminals involved in the recent violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum are punished at the earliest.
PM Modi expressed his condolences for the loss of lives and said that the centre government is ready to provide support to the state government to ensure that punishment is given out to the criminals involved.
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Eight people lost their lives when a mob set fire to houses in the Bogtui village near Rampurhat town on Tuesday. While seven charred bodies were recovered from the burnt houses, one person died on the way to the hospital. The dead included two children and women as well. As per reports, the mob had locked the people inside and set fire to the houses.
After the incident there has been a lot of hue and cry regarding the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal. Congress and BJP leaders have demanded that the President’s rule should be imposed in the state considering the violent state of affairs. They have blamed the ruling party workers for the incident.
The Union Home Ministry has asked the state for a detailed report of the incident. A SIT- Special Investigation Team led by ADG CID Gyanwant Singh has been set up to investigate the matter. Around 20 people have been taken into custody so far while some are reported to have fled the area.
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Local BJP leaders allege that the killings were a response by the Trinamool Congress workers to the murder of one of its local leaders, a deputy Panchayat chief named Bhadu Sheikh. BJP delegation led by Suvendu Adhikari was not allowed by the police to visit the spot of the killings today.
CM Mamata Banerjee has said that she will visit the area tomorrow and take stock of the situation. She also said that though the killings are not justified, similar incidents have taken place in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The Calcutta high court has taken a suo moto cognizance of the case. The court has ordered that the witnesses should be provided appropriate protection by the police department. It has however, refused to accept the plea for a CBI investigation into the killings.
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The Calcutta High Court has also asked that the state government should install CCTV cameras covering the complete scene of the crime in the presence of the district judge immediately.
The National Commission of Women-NCW has asked the West Bengal police chief to look into the matter and catch the culprits at the earliest.
