Non-TMC parties in West Bengal are in uproar over the violence in Birbhum district’s Rampurhat, in which eight persons, including two children, were charred to death on Tuesday due to alleged intraparty feud in the ruling Trinamool Congress. While the BJP has formed a five-member fact-finding committee to look into the incident, union home minister Amit Shah has asked for a report from the state government in the next 72 hours.
Here are the top updates in the Birbhum violence incident, triggered soon after the alleged murder of a local TMC leader:
- BJP forms 5-member team
National president JP Nadda formed a fact-finding team of the BJP to look into the Birbhum incident. The opposition party has also sought the imposition of President’s Rule in the state. A group of MLAs led by opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari will also make an attempt to reach ‘Ground Zero’. The BJP fact-finding team, meanwhile, will be reaching Kolkata on Wednesday, and will start for Rampurhat on Thursday. - Amit Shah demands report in 72 hours
Union home minister Amit Shah has sought a report from the West Bengal government in 72 hours. The Bengal government may submit the report by Wednesday. West Bengal chief secretary HK Dwivedi and director general of police Manoj Malaviya will apprise the ministry of home affairs of the case. The report is expected to list all facts, action taken so far and line of investigation - CID team to conduct probe
A team of crime investigation department (CID) is in West Bengal to investigate the Birbhum incident. The state government has formed a three-member special investigation team (SIT) headed by ADG (CID) Gyanwant Singh for the probe. - The toll, how it unfolded
Two children are among eight persons charred to death in the Birbhum incident. Eight houses caught fire in Bogtui village near Rampurhat town of Birbhum district. The incident took place soon after the alleged murder of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh, deputy chief of the local panchayat, Malaviya said. Police officers and firefighters reached the spot. “The situation is now under control, and a police picket was posted in the village. We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the panchayat deputy chief of neighbouring Barshal village,” Malaviya said. The top police officer further said seven bodies were recovered after the blaze was brought under control while three injured persons were rescued, one of whom died in a hospital. - Mamata slams WB governor Dhankhar
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar after he said the state was in the grip of a culture of “violence and lawlessness”, describing the deaths in Birbhum as “horrifying”. In the absence of a formal statement by Banerjee concerning the incident, this was the only public statement she made on the day, requesting Dhankhar to refrain from making unwarranted statements and alleged that his comments have “political overtones”.