Eight people were charred to death after some unidentified persons set a dozen houses on fire in the Rampurhat area in Birbhum district in West Bengal on Tuesday night.
So gory was the incident that the BJP said it was reminiscent of CPI-M’s mass killings. The party also demanded imposition of the President’s Rule in the State.
Seven bodies have so far been recovered.
India Today said the miscreants had locked the doors from outside which left the occupants no chance to escape from the blazing fire.
A journalist Pooja Mehta said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed and that police officials of the area have been suspended.
It’s been said that the horrific incident happened after a Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionary called Bhadu Sheikh had been murdered. He was a panchayat member when he was attacked with crude bombs while sitting in a shop on National Highway-60 on Monday.
“As he was a popular leader, the mob attacked some of the houses of the opposition gang at the village of Bhadu Sheikh. Police have so far arrested one person for the murder of Sheikh,” a Times of India report said.
“CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged the violence was a result of internal rivalries in the TMC. However, Anubrata Mandal, district president of the TMC, denied there was any murder or violence and claimed the fire was triggered by a short circuit,” a report in The Week said.
