Birbhum killings: CBI makes first arrests, four held from Mumbai

The CBI on Thursday arrested four people from Mumbai in connection with the Birbhum killings, which triggered a political row across the state last month, agency’s officials said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested four people from Mumbai in connection with the Birbhum killings, which triggered a political row across the state last month, agency’s officials said.

These are the first arrests made by the CBI which began probing the Birbhum killings after it was directed by the Calcutta high court to take over the investigation on March 25. (PTI)

These are the first arrests made by the central agency which began probing the case after it was directed by the Calcutta high court to take over the investigation on March 25.

The four people, all hailing from West Bengal, were tracked using technical and human intelligence following which information was passed on to its Mumbai unit which apprehended them this morning, a CBI officer in Kolkata said, seeking anonymity.

The mobile locations of the four suspects were also traced near Bogtui village – the spot of the killings – on the day of the incident, the officer added.

Those arrested were identified as Bappa Sheikh, Sabu Sheikh, Taj Mohammad and Serajul Sheikh – all residents of Bogtui village.

“Two of the arrested men, Bappa Sheikh and Sabu Sheikh, were named by those who were held earlier by a special investigation team (SIT) of state police. All four had left for Mumbai on March 22,” the CBI officer said.

The suspects are being brought to Kolkata and are likely to be produced before a Birbhum court on Friday, the officer added.

Eight people, including two children, were charred to death when eight huts were set ablaze in Bogtui village late on March 21, in a suspected fallout of the murder of a ruling Trinamool Congress panchayat official Bhadu Sheikh.

One of the four people, who sustained burn injuries and was undergoing treatment at a state-run hospital in Rampurhat, died on March 28, taking the overall toll to nine.

The state government on March 22 formed a SIT to probe the case. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee also visited the affected village on March 24 and ordered the arrest of all suspects, including her party colleagues.

Hours later, police arrested a local TMC leader, Anarul Hossain, as Banerjee alleged that he did not pay proper attention to the apprehension of locals about a possible disturbance in the area, leading to the carnage. A total of 22 people were arrested by the SIT.

The Calcutta high court, however, on March 25 noted that the Birbhum massacre has “shaken the conscience of the society”, and directed the CBI to take over the matter. It had also expressed dissatisfaction over the SIT’s progress on the case,

The CBI on Thursday submitted its preliminary report in a sealed envelope before a division bench of chief justice Prakash Srivastava and justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj. It also mentioned the use of modern technology in the probe.

During the hearing, Priyanka Tibrewal, one of the five petitioners who had sought a CBI probe into the killings, demanded that the central agency also probe Bhadu Sheikh’s murder since she believes that the two incidents are connected.

Responding to this, additional solicitor general Y J Dastoor said the agency may take up the murder probe if the court passes an order although there is a possibility that vital evidence may have been tampered by now.

The state’s counsels opposed the demand for a CBI probe into Bhadu Sheikh’s murder, saying the matter was already being investigated by the state police

The bench reserved its order.