Bogtui Massacre: CBI arrests eight absconding accused

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Tuesday that its sleuths have arrested eight absconding accused in the carnage at Bogtui village in West Bengal's Birbhum district in which 10 persons were killed in the wee hours of March 21.

Of the eight arrested persons, seven are directly accused in the carnage at Bogtui while one arrest is related to the murder of deputy panchayat chief Vadu Sheikh. The Bogtui carnage and the killing of Vadu Sheikh are inter-related.

The seven persons arrested in connection with the Bogtui massacre include Bikir Ali, Noor Ali, Sher Ali, Asif Sekh, Joshif Hossain, Jamirul Sekh and Khairul Sekh, while Lalan Sekh has been arrested in the Vadu Sheikh murder case.

On March 21, local Trinamool Congress strongman Vadu Sheikh was killed in broad daylight. In the ensuing violence that broke out at Bogtui following Sheikh's murder, several houses were set on fire, killing eight persons, including women and children, were killed on the spot. Later, one more woman died in the hospital, taking the total death toll to 10, including Vadu Sheikh.

On June 21, the CBI had submitted its chargesheet at a lower court in Birbhum district, wherein it clearly said that the local police were negligent even as violence swept Bogtui village.

It was also mentioned that despite calls from the villagers, no one from the local police station reached the spot.

The chargesheet said the rioters first locked the main exits, before setting the houses on fire to ensure that no one could escape.