The CBI on Monday recorded the statement of key witness Mihilal Sheikh, who lost seven of his family members, including wife and daughter, in the March 21 Bogtui carnage, for over four hours.

The questioning assumes significance as Mihilal was the first to point a finger at then Trinamul block president Anarul Hossain's role in the massacre. Anarul was arrested and also removed from his post by his party on Thursday, the day chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Bogtui.

A group of CBI officials on Monday morning went to Gopaljal village of Sainthia —36km away from Bogtui village — where the family had taken shelter since they fled Bogtui on the night of Monday 21. The sleuths took Mihilal to their camp office in Rampurhat, housed at a state government guest house, around noon on Monday.

“His statement is very important in this case as he was the first to raise a complaint on the involvement of Anarul and how the goons attacked the village and set several houses on fire,” said a CBI official.

Within a few minutes of the Mihilal’s arrival, seven of 21 arrested, including Anarul, were brought to the camp office.

Sources said primarily the CBI had planned to interrogate Mihilal and Anarul together. But the plan was changed and they only questioned Mihilal at their camp office for four hours.

CBI sources said Mihilal gave a detailed account of the attack and how his family took shelter by locking themselves inside the one-storey house of Sona Sheikh, which was later set ablaze. The sleuths asked him to explain the reasons behind his complaint against Trinamul leader Anarul and the latter’s role in the massacre.

“His entire statement was videographed. Anarul and others would be quizzed on the basis of what Mihilal said,” said a source.

Mihilal left the camp office around 4pm on Monday and went to Bogtui village with police protection to take part in the funeral of Nazima Biwi, 40, the ninth casualty of the carnage who died at Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital on Monday afternoon.

Anarul and six others arrested in the carnage case were at the CBI camp office till late Monday evening. On Sunday Anarul and four others were quizzed for over eight hours.

On Monday evening, Sayan Ahmed, the former SDPO of Rampurhat, was also taken to the camp office of the CBI where the sleuths interrogated him on his role after the carnage. Sources said sleuths asked him about his interaction with district police chief Nagendra Nath Tripathi.

On the night of the incident, there was a meeting between the SP, SDPO, additional SP and other officials at the ground floor of the police guest house in Tarapith. Police sources said the SP had apparently told his seniors in Calcutta that he was completely in the dark about the carnage as neither SDPO nor the IC had informed him about it.

“It seems there was a lack of coordination in the police and this will also be a part of the probe,” a source said.

A forensic team again visited Bogtui on Monday and collected samples from the house of Fatik Sheikh, whose house was one of the eight set afire on the night of March 21.