The CBI has arrested seven accused during further investigation of a case related to the alleged murder of 10 persons at village Bogtui, Birbhum (West Bengal) in the post-poll violence.
The alleged role of these arrested accused emerged during the investigation.
The arrested accused were produced before the ACJM Court, Rampurhat (West Bengal) on Tuesday and they were remanded to 10-day CBI custody, the CBI said in a statement.
The arrested accused persons are Bikir Ali, Noor Ali, Sher Ali alias Kalo, Asif SK, Joshif Hossain, Jamirul SK alais Ujir and Khairul SK.
The CBI had registered this instant case on March 25 this year against 22 accused and others in compliance with the orders of the Calcutta High Court.
It was alleged that at about 8.30 PM on March 21, 2022, Bhadu Shekh of Bogtui, Upa Pradhan (Deputy Pradhan) of Barshal GP was murdered by inflicting bomb injuries, at Bogtui Morh on NH-60, it said. After the incident, serious tension cropped up at Bogtui Morh on NH-60 and surrounding areas over the issue of the said murder. It was further alleged that the followers and associates of slain Bhadu Shekh, ransacked the houses of rival groups at village Bogtui and set them on fire with a view to kill the persons inside and their family inmates.
Seven persons were charred to death and four other persons sustained severe burn injuries. Identities of the deceased persons could not be established. Later on, out of four injured victims, three died subsequently. The State police arrested 21 accused/suspected persons.
After taking over the investigation, a large team of CBI including experts from CFSL immediately reached Rampurhat. Vital physical and biological evidence were collected by the CFSL team.
The bodies recovered were completely charred beyond recognition. The biological samples of these victims were preserved during post-mortem examination along with the blood samples of the probable direct relatives of the victims were sent for DNA profiling.
With the help of DNA profiling, the identity of all the seven victims was established.
The CBI filed chargesheet on June 20 against 16 accused before the Competent Court and also submitted a report against two Children in Conflict of Law (CCL) in the Court of Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Suri, Birbhum.