At least 10 people were killed in the violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum
Kolkata:
Days after a key accused in a case of violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum allegedly died by suicide in CBI custody, state police filed a murder case against the officials of the central probe agency.
Lalon Sheikh, one of the main accused in the violence that took place earlier this year at Bogtui village of Bengal’s Birbhum district, allegedly died by suicide in CBI custody on Monday.
A First Information Report or FIR registered by the cops name senior officials of the CBI for the “murder” of the accused. Sources say the agency will be challenging the FIR in the Calcutta High Court.
The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by Lalon’s family alleging custodial torture.
Lalon Sheikh was arrested from Jharkhand on December 4 – eight months after the massacre in which 10 people, including women and children, were burnt alive.
He was kept in a temporary camp set up by the CBI in the district.
Lalon Sheikh’s wife alleged that CBI officials had threatened to kill her husband and demanded Rs 50 lakh to clear his name in the case.
The central probe agency has rejected the allegations as “baseless” and launched a probe into Sheikh’s death.
The CBI is probing the case on the orders of the Calcutta High Court. Sheikh is believed to have led a crowd that set homes on fire in Bogtui leading to the death of 10 people, mostly women and children. The 10 people were badly beaten up before the carnage, their post-mortem or forensic examination had revealed.
The violence took place in the village after the murder of a local TMC leader, Bhadu Sheikh. The CBI chargesheet says Bhadu Sheikh’s murder was the fallout of rivalry between him and his associates over dubious land deals, illegal businesses and a share of extortion money.