Smoke continued to billow from half-burnt haystacks outside charred houses in Bogtui till as late as Wednesday evening but there was almost no one left at the village to throw water on the dying embers.
A gang of over 100-armed marauders massacred at least 10 houses and set them on fire on Monday night, killing eight persons. From Tuesday, the effect of the ghastly massacre had triggered an exodus. “Life is precious, livestock is no less,” said a villager as he and his wife lifted a cage of poultry on a motorised van, while leaving Bogtui on Wednesday.
The exodus gave Birbhum’s administration a stiff challenge — to restore normal life here, which means getting people back to their homes.
The administration’s desperation increased with chief minister Mamata Banerjee's Bogtui visit on Thursday.
Trinamul sources in Rampurhat said the administration knew well that not all people would be back given the sense of fear but getting at least some of them back was critical during the chief minister’s visit.
“An official got in touch with us on Wednesday night and requested us to reach out to villagers who had moved to safer places. They wanted them to return to their homes in Bogtui as the chief minister would be there. We tried but failed to convince them,” said a Trinamul leader in Rampurhat on Thursday.
Police sources said the failure on the political front forced the administration to deploy its officials to convince people to return to Bogtui.
Early on Thursday morning, BDO Sainthia Saikat Biswas was deployed to convince Mihilal Shiekh, who lost eight members of his family in the carnage and had taken shelter at in nearby Bataspur village, to come to Bogtui and meet Mamata.
Police sources said the BDO and police officers had been tasked to get Mihilal and to Bogtui during Mamata’s visit. “The image of a carnage-hit deserted village was the last the thing that the state government wanted the world to see,” said a police officer.
As Mihilal showed his reluctance, the desperate administration promised them total security to Bogtui and back.
“We agreed to travel to Bogtui to meet the CM only after the BDO promised us full security. We are scared for our lives,” said Mihilal who met Mamata and accepted compensation. He continued to demand the government ensure the killers “rot in jail for the rest of their lives”.
When Mamata visited Bogtui and addressed the large crowd, she asked the district magistrate and director general of police Manoj Malviya to ensure the carnage village should return to normality.
To ensure that Bogtui residents got back confidence in the government, she said: “Any time goons can attack the village. There is a larger conspiracy taking place here. There should be permanent (police) pickets here. It cannot be that there is picket n the morning and none by evening.”
“Parar lok paray thakbe. Para sob lok nie asben. Aar police picket thakbe…Ghore jara thakbe tader nirapottar kono obhab jata na hoi seta Manoj dekhbe (Locals will live in their area. Get back the locals. Police picket will remain... those who stay at home, Manoj Malviya, ensure their security is taken care of),” she added.
Guarding the village is a challenge for the administration as it is open on at least three sides. But Mamata’s message has been heard loud and clear. “We have installed at least 50 CCTV cameras and set up monitors at multiple spots to keep an eye on movements of outsiders in the village. A special team has been formed to monitor CCTV footage,” said a police officer.
At one corner of Bogtui over 100 villagers held a protest demanding punishment for the killers. Armed with placards, a protester said: “One of the pre-condition for normality in the village is ensuring justice to those killed in the massacre and that can only happen if the government punishes the killers.”