An eyewitness account of the Birbhum violence has emerged after a resident of the district’s Bogtui village spoke to the press and narrated the events of the horrifying evening when eight people, 6 women and 2 children, were allegedly burnt to death by a violent mob after the murder of local TMC leader Bhadu Shaikh. According to the eye witness, the violent mob kept shouting ‘Ransack the houses, kill whoever is there’ during the carnage.
Speaking to ANI, the eyewitness, Shah Alam Shaikh, a resident of Bogtui village narrated, “During the incident around 9-9.30pm, I was inside my house. My wife and I were offering namaz. After hearing the noise, I went outside and heard people saying that the Up-pradhan was killed. We were there outside our homes when we saw a person approaching us. They were saying ‘ransack the houses, kill whoever is there’. I then rushed inside the house and took our children to one room. I then kept family members locked inside the house.”
Alam added that the perpetrators hurled bombs at the houses they were targeting. He stated, “We then heard 10 bombs exploding which were hurled at houses. They ransacked the houses of those with whom they had enmity. Then they started setting all the houses on fire. No one tried to stop them. If one had tried, he would have been killed. Burnt bodies of seven people have been recovered from a house.”
The eyewitness further stated that he could not see the faces of the perpetrators since he was hiding inside his house. “It was not known who those people were. We were inside the house so we could not figure out. We could see from my house that the neighbouring houses were burning. This rampage was carried out all night. There is an atmosphere of fear and I am also leaving the house,” said Alam.
The Calcutta High Court (HC) has already taken cognizance of the case.
