Table of Contents
What’s happening?
- The murder of a deputy pradhan in Bogtui village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Monday evening sparked off a chain of events,
- That led to at least eight houses in the area being attacked and set on fire, resulting in eight deaths, including that of women and children.
- Police said two FIRs have been filed – one over deputy pradhan Bhadu Sheikh’s killing and the other over the attack on the houses. Eleven people have been arrested in the second case.
How and when the violence started?
- The murder of a deputy pradhan in Bogtui village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Monday evening sparked off a chain of events,
- That led to at least eight houses in the area being attacked and set on fire, resulting in eight deaths, including that of women and children.
- Police said two FIRs have been filed – one over deputy pradhan Bhadu Sheikh’s killing and the other over the attack on the houses. Eleven people have been arrested in the second case.
what is police saying?
- Police said Bhadu Sheikh, 38, the deputy pradhan who is associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress, was standing near the Bogtui crossing late Monday evening,
- When four men on two motorcycles allegedly lobbed crude bombs at him.
- Sheikh was taken to the government hospital in Rampurhat block, but died on the way.
- Hours later, a cluster of houses, including that of Fatikh Sheikh and those belonging to relatives of Sona Sheikh — two of the accused in Bhadu’s murder who are now absconding — Was allegedly attacked and set on fire, leading to the death of eight people.
- While the charred bodies recovered from the houses are yet to be identified, police said women and children are among those killed.
- Meena Bibi, the wife of accused Fatikh Sheikh who succumbed to her burn injuries in hospital, is the only one to have been identified so far.
- Bhadu’s younger brother Jehangir said, “After my brother was killed, hundreds of people from five villages gathered here. People were angry and they gave vent to their anger.
- We do not know who did what in the crowd.”
Friends & Party colleagues
- Villagers and his family members accuse Sona and Fatikh of killing Bhadu and say they were all friends and party colleagues but fell out as Bhadu gained political and financial clout.
- Their bitter rivalry took a new turn on January 5 last year when Bhadu’s brother Babar Sheikh was murdered.
- “My brother, Sona Sheikh, Fatikh Sheikh and the other accused all worked for the Trinamool Congress. My brother used to pay them Rs 20,000 to 30,000 every month. But they were jealous that he was getting rich and powerful… He had several businesses,” said Jehangir.
Centre Vs state
- While police denied any political angle and said it was a case of rivalry between two groups,
- The incident found an echo in New Delhi and Kolkata as the Union Home Ministry sought a report from the state government,
- Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar summoned the chief secretary, and the state government set up a Special Investigation Team.
- Opposition parties targetted the state government for the “deteriorating law and order”, with the BJP walking out of the state Assembly in protest.
PIL in high court
- The Bengal BJP filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court demanding a CBI and NIA probe into the incident and also compensation for the families of those who died in the attack on their homes.
- The court is likely to hear the matter later this week.
Q) The Emergency Provisions of Indian Constitution have been borrowed from?
- Germany
- USSR
- Japan
- US
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