NHRC seeks report from Bengal govt on Birbhum shocker

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken the suo motu cognizance of incidents of violence in West Bengal's Birbhum where 8 persons including women and children were allegedly burnt to death after a Trinamool Congress leader was killed in a bomb attack on Tuesday.

The commission has sought detailed reports within four weeks, including the status of FIRs in the matter.

The commission on Thursday issued notice to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, West Bengal calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks including the status for the FIRs registered in the matter, steps taken to ensure safety of the people in the village and any relief or rehabilitation provided by the state government.

"Issuing the notice, the Commission has also observed that going by the contents of the media reports, the incident of hate violence indicates that the law and order is not appropriate in the area," said NHRC.

The commission said that as per the media reports, the doctors at Rampurhat Government Hospital, where the bodies were taken for post-mortem, stated that the condition of the bodies made their work very difficult.

It added further that the presence of blood suggests that the victims were first physically attacked and then the houses were put on fire.