KOLKATA: The CBI on Monday filed two separate charge sheets in the killing of a Trinamool Congress leader and subsequent carnage allegedly triggered by it in which a house was set ablaze and nine persons, including two women and two children, were charred to death in Birbhum's Bogtui in March.
The CBI held four persons accused in the charge sheet in the murder of Bhadu Sheikh, the TMC leader, whereas 18 persons, including a local TMC leader who was arrested by the state police shortly after chief minister dropped his name publicly, in the massacre case.
On March 21 night, Sheikh, deputy chief of a local panchayat, was attacked with bombs and he died. On the same night, the house was set on fire in retaliation. The CBI had taken over the investigation of both the cases - Sheikh's murder and the massacre claiming nine lives - following an order of the Calcutta High Court.
"In the charge sheets, it has been mentioned that the massacre killing nine persons was a direct fall out of the killing of Sheikh. The rivalry between two groups over the issue of dominance in the area and control over income from illegal collection led to Sheikh’s killing and the subsequent massacre," said a CBI officer.
The Bogtui massacre is said to be the biggest carnage during Mamata's tenure since the change of guard in the state in 2011.