The CBI officials investigating the Bogtui carnage have apparently found some anomalies in the suo motu complaint lodged by Rampurhat sub-inspector of police Dhrubajyoti Dutta on March 22 following the arson in which nine persons were killed.

The complaint is very important as it led to the FIR that the special investigating team (SIT) registered after taking over the probe. The CBI also started its investigation with the complaint lodged by Dutta. Calcutta High Court transferred the probe to the CBI from the SIT on Friday.

“In every criminal case, the complaint plays a significant role as the investigation is built on the contents of the first complaint.… If the investigators have doubts about the veracity of the complaint, they must clear them before going ahead with the probe,” said a senior IPS officer not connected with the Bogtui case.

In the past three days, the CBI sleuths talked to several police officers, Bogtui residents and victims to gather information on what actually had happened on March 21 night after Trinamul strongman Bhadu Sheikh had been killed.

Sources in the CBI said the investigating officers developed suspicion about the complaint as its contents didn’t tally with what they gathered from the ground. “There were even doubts on whether Dutta, who gave a detailed account of what happened, was present on the spot,” said a source.

To clear the doubts, the CBI officials quizzed Dutta on Sunday and Monday and asked several questions regarding his complaint.

“The veracity of the complaint of Dutta is key to the case... It’s just a matter of time before his statement is formally recorded in the presence of a judge,” said a source in CBI.

The CBI officials have already sought CCTV footage at Rampurhat police station from March 21 evening. “The CCTV footage would make it clear which officers were at the police station...” said the source.

In his complaint, Dutta repeatedly said how he, along with a police team, had been informed about unrest at Bogtui after the murder of Bhadu Sheikh and the steps he had taken after learning about the arson from duty officer Ramesh Saha at Rampurhat police station.

“At around 21.35 hours received information from SI Ramesh Saha of Rampurhat PS (duty officer) that some houses of Bogtui village had caught fire and were burning. He asked me to pursue the information……..at about 22.05 hours we reached Bogtui village which is located at a distance of 1 km from Bogtui more (crossing) on NH 60,” Dutta wrote in the complaint.

The CBI officials have already collected CCTV footage from different parts of Bogtui to ascertain the movement of local people and policemen on that evening.

Since the carnage, questions on police inaction have tumbled out in the open as the houses that were charred were less than a km away from the bungalow of the Rampurhat subdivisional police officer. The CBI on Monday afternoon summoned SDPO Sayan Ahmed to its camp office and questioned him about the incident and how he and his subordinates had responded to the murder and the fire thereafter.