The CBI on Tuesday arrested seven more persons for their alleged involvement in the carnage that rocked Birbhum's Bogtui on March 21 and claimed 10 lives.
All the seven accused—residents of Bogtui village — were remanded in CBI custody for 10 days after being produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate of Rampurhat Souvik Dey.
Earlier, the central agency arrested 28 people for their connection in the carnage. The CBI had submitted its first charge sheet in the Bogtui massacre on June 20 naming 18 people, including former Trinamul block president Anarul Hossain.
“After the fresh arrests by the CBI, the total number of arrests in the Bogtui carnage case stands at 35. All the accused were arrested during the course of investigation, according to the central agency. All were granted CBI custody for 10 days,” said Surajit Sinha, the assistant public prosecutor of Rampurhat.
Eight persons were charred to death in arson at Bogtui village by a group of armed persons after the murder of Trinamul deputy chief of Barshal gram panchayat Bhadu Sheiikh on March 21. Two more persons with serious burn injuries died in hospital.
The carnage had raised questions on the state’s law and order and the role of police and local Trinamul leaders was questioned by the Opposition. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had rushed to Bogtui village within three days of the massacre and asked the police to arrest then Trinamul block president Anarul Hossain.
Within a few days, both Bogtui massacre and murder of Bhadu Sheikh were handed over to CBI for probe following a Calcutta High Court order.
In a related development, the CBI on Tuesday took into custody one Chhoto Lalon Sheikh in connection of murder of Bhadu.
Anubrata case
A two-member CBI team on Tuesday visited the office of the additional district sub-registrar of Bolpur in a bid to collect documents of plots belonging to Anubrata Mondal’s daughter Sukanya, his former body guard Saigal Hossain and a few close aides of the arrested Trinamul leader.
Sources said CBI sleuths had sought details of land belonging to friends and family members of Mondal.
They collected documents of payments made to buy the plots at multiple places in Bolpur. A source in the sub-registrar’s office said they had also collected names of those who paid the money to buy the properties.
CBI sources said they were trying to find how the Trinamul leader had parked money he had allegedly received for “arranging safe passage” for cattle to Bangladesh.
