Bogtui accused death: West Bengal Police file murder case against CBI officials

Two days after the prime accused in the Bogtui violence case was found dead in CBI custody, West Bengal Police filed a murder case against senior officials of the central probe agency.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by the wife of Lalon Sheikh, alleging custodial torture. Lalon was found hanging by the neck in a toilet of the CBI camp in Birbhum on Monday evening. While CBI claimed he committed suicide, Lalon’s family has alleged foul play.

The state police have reportedly named seven senior CBI officials, including the CBI DIG and the CBI SP, in the FIR. Sources say the agency, which was ordered to probe the Bogtui massacre by Calcutta High Court, will challenge the FIR in that court.

Dubious deals

In March this year, ten people, mostly women and children, were beaten up and burnt to death at Bogtui village in Birbhum district. The violence was fallout of the murder of a local Trinamool Congress leader, Bhadu Sheikh. Lalon allegedly led the crowd that carried out the massacre.

According to the CBI chargesheet, Bhadu’s rivalry with his associates over shady land deals, illegal businesses, and a share of extortion money led to his murder. Lalon was arrested from Jharkhand on December 4. He was lodged in a temporary CBI camp at a guest house in the district where he was found dead.

Extortion claim

Sheikh’s wife Reshma Bibi has reportedly alleged that CBI officials threatened to kill him if he did not cough up Rs 50 lakh to clear his name in the case. The CBI has termed the allegations “baseless.”

Also read: Bloodshed in Birbhum – Is there a tacit social sanction for violence?

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has questioned the CBI’s role in the case. “I condemn the incident. If the CBI is so smart, why is he dead,” she said in a press conference in Shillong on Tuesday.

The CID has taken over the probe into the Lalon’s death. “The West Bengal CID has been ordered to probe the death of Bogtui violence accused Lalon Sheikh in CBI custody,” said an official on Tuesday.

(With agency inputs)