The CBI has named 21 accused in the Birbhum arson case where eight persons were burnt to death, reports ndtv.com.

The list of accused corroborates with that of the state police, sources said. The agency, however, has grilled the ruling Trinamul Congress's block president Anarul Hossain, who, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had assured would be arrested.

Around 20 people have been held after six women and two children -- mostly of members of a family -- were locked in their house and burnt alive by a mob at Bogtui village near Birbhum's Rampurhat town.

The attack was allegedly in retaliation to the murder of a local TMC leader, Bhadu Sheikh, who died in a bomb blast.

The agency on Saturday had began its investigation into the Bogtui carnage by visiting the Birbhum village with experts from the Central Forensic Laboratory to piece together what exactly happened on the night of March 21 that led to the death of eight persons.

A CBI team headed by DIG Akhilesh Singh hit the ground running early on Saturday with a visit to the house of Sona Sheikh in Bogtui village from where seven charred bodies were recovered in the morning of March 22.

Over the next two hours, the CBI officers split in multiple groups and scanned the other houses set on fire, as well as examined the entry and exit points, the rooms and terraces.

Armed men had descended on Bogtui within hours of the murder of local Trinamul strongman Bhadu Sheikh on the night of March 21.

A division bench of Calcutta High Court that had Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R. Bharadwaj handed over the probe to the CBI on Friday and directed the central agency to file a progress report by April 7.

Back from the village, some members of the CBI team, including DIG Singh, visited Rampurhat police station under which Bogtui village falls to speak to senior officers of Birbhum, including inspector-general of police B.L. Meena and district police chief Nagendra Nath Tripathi.

The other members got about completing formalities at the Rampurhat ACJM’s court, informing it about the change in the probe agency from the special investigation team to the CBI on the orders of the high court.

BJP trying to influence CBI probe into Birbhum killings: TMC

The ruling Trinamul Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of trying to influence the CBI probe into the killings in Bogtui village in Bengal's Birbhum district.

The saffron party, on the other hand, alleged that the TMC has lost all credibility after the March 22 incident in which women and children were among the eight victims.

"The BJP has forgotten the killings in Gujarat years back. It is now shedding crocodile tears for the Bogtui incident, in which prompt action has already been taken. We iterate that the state government is committed to ensuring justice to the victims irrespective of their political affiliations.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the area within two days of the incident and met the victims' families. We are okay with a fair, impartial and prompt CBI probe. However, in the last one-two days, there are indications that the BJP is trying to influence the central agency's investigation for its own political interest. We oppose any such move," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters.

He said that the party will "wait and watch" how the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe progresses in the next few days before deciding its future response.

"We are cooperating with the CBI in every possible way," Ghosh said.

BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya alleged that the ruling party in the state has "lost all credibility and acceptability" after the Bogtui incident and declined to comment on the TMC's charge.