Birbhum violence: 10 key developments since 8 people charred to death in Bengal

New Delhi, Mar 23: Eight people, including three women and two children, were charred to death as nearly a dozen houses were set ablaze in a village in West Bengal's Birbhum district early Tuesday in a suspected fallout of the murder of a ruling TMC panchayat official.

Sources said the adults among the dead had been identified as Mina Bibi, Noornihar Bibi, Rupali Bibi, Bani Sheikh, Mihir Sheikh and Neklal Sheik. Najira Bibi, one of those who managed to survive, told PTI from her hospital bed at Rampurhat, "We were sleeping and suddenly heard the sound of bombs ... the miscreants set our houses on fire. I managed to escape but don't know what happened to others in the family."

The incident, West Bengal DGP Malviya said, occurred hours after the killing of TMC's Barshal village panchayat's deputy chief Bhadu Sheikh around 8.30 pm on Monday. "We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the TMC panchayat leader, which appears to be due to a deep-rooted personal enmity," he said.

"We are not confirming that the fire was because of retaliation for other incidents. It is being looked into. If it was, it was due to a deep-rooted personal enmity," Malviya said. The Sub-divisional Police Officer concerned an officer in-charge of Rampurhat police station have been removed from active policing duty, the DGP said.

10 Developments that Took Place since Eight People Charred to Death:

The West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh, to probe the incident.

At least 20 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence in West Bengal's Birbhum district that claimed eight lives, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. "Some accused seem to have fled the village. We are trying to trace them," a police officer said. He also stated that forensic experts were examining the ravaged houses to get an idea about the "nature of the mishap". Eleven people were arrested the same day for their involvement in the incident. "With nine more arrests, the number of those who have been nabbed in the case rose to 20. We are grilling them to find out if there were more people involved in the incident.

A 9-member delegation of BJP MPs including the party's national vice president Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee and Arjun Singh met Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital and sought his intervention to punish the perpetrators of the incident.

BJP president JP Nadda constituted a five-member committee, which includes four MPs, to visit the site of the tragedy. The members of the fact-finding committee are former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brij Lal, former Mumbai police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, former IPS officer K C Ramamurthy, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar -- all MPs -- and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh.

The Union home ministry has sought a detailed report on the incident from the state government. CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim said the "cold-blooded killing" of so many people by "goons of the TMC" is condemnable. Salim said Mamata Banerjee will have to take responsibility for the deaths.

The TMC despatched a three-member team of lawmakers led by minister Firhad Hakim to the spot to take stock of the situation. Hakim after visiting the spot said the slaying of the TMC leader and the firing of houses was a "deep rooted conspiracy", which he had asked the state police to look into.

"Horrifying violence and arson orgy #Rampurhat #Birbhum indicates state is in grip of violence culture and lawlessness," Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has been locked in a protracted feud with the Mamata Banerjee government, tweeted, and sought an update from the chief secretary. Banerjee hit right back, shooting off a letter to Dhankhar, saying "It pains me that you have chosen an unfortunate incident in Rampurhat to pass sweeping, uncalled for comments on law and order situation in the state. This incident is unfortunate."

Leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari demanded imposition of President's Rule in the state. "The lawless situation in the state proves imposition of President's Rule is the only way to protect the state. Our delegation will visit the area tomorrow," he said, alleging the TMC is now killing its "own people", indicating the incident could be the result of intra-party rivalry.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday took suo moto cognisance of the incident of Rampurhat violence that erupted in the Birbhum district in the State of West Bengal.

National Commission for Women (NCW) takes cognizance of the Birbhum incident and writes to DGP West Bengal and SP Birbhum to arrest and take stringent action against the culprits and to intimate the action taken into the matter to the Commission within 24 hours.