{"id":262177,"date":"2022-03-24T14:59:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T09:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/?p=262177"},"modified":"2023-08-17T18:11:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T12:41:21","slug":"birbhum-killings-bogtui-west-bengal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/top-news-of-the-day\/news\/birbhum-killings-bogtui-west-bengal\/","title":{"rendered":"Birbhum killings: The fuse just blew"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Sujit Bhar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Extreme political awareness in West Bengal has come with a price tag: extreme political violence. This has been the hallmark of the state, proud as it is, of its secular stature, of its leftist or socialist past and of a generally open society where all are welcome and caste and race aren\u2019t matters worth discussing. Unless, of course, you are political rivals: that is one class divide that Bengalis do not tolerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday (March 22), in a village called Bogtui, on the outskirts of Birbhum district\u2019s Rampurhat, a clash between two Trinamool Congress (TMC) factions resulted in one being shot dead. This was followed by a horrible retaliation ending in a gruesome massacre. Eight people, including a child and six women, aged between seven and 52, were burned to death. The dead included a newly married couple. Seven of the victims were related. It has been said the doors of the houses were locked from outside and the houses set on fire. The bodies were charred beyond recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sheer magnitude of the horror has shaken the area, the state and even the country. The allegation is that this is retaliation for the death of the TMC worker, Bhadu Sheikh, the night before. The bodies were found in two houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cold-blooded attack claimed the lives of Jahanara Bibi (Doli), 38; Lili Khatun, 18; Sheli Bibi, 32; Nurnehar Bibi, 52; Rupali Bibi, 39; Kazi Sajidur Rahaman, 22; Tuli Khatun, 7; and Mina Bibi, 40. The first seven were relatives and their bodies were found in the one-storey house of Sona Sheikh. Kazi Sajidur and Lili Khatun were the newlyweds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also Read: <\/strong>Onus lies on complainant to prove fraud was intentional: Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Village Bogtui is 220km from state capital Kolkata. The village has just 2,000 people, but political violence is not new here. Even during Left Front rule, violence has been a common occurrence in the village. There has always been lawlessness, including the manufacture of crude bombs, supply of arms and illegal sand and stone mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A media report, quotes a source as saying: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe village has had two groups that have been at odds with each other for the past three decades\u2026 During the time of the Left, both the groups belonged to the Left. Since the change of guard, they have shifted allegiance to TMC\u2026 but their fight is continuing.\u201d<\/mark><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This is the first such massacre in the reign of Mamata Banerjee\u2019s TMC. The opposition, led by the BJP, has cried for the imposition of President\u2019s rule and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has always been at odds with the state government, has also launched into the incident. Banerjee has written to the Governor saying this was a larger plan to malign Bengal. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that immediate investigation and punishment must be meted out to the culprits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A special investigation team has been set up by the government to take prompt action. Action will also be taken against some policemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Political violence is not new in the state. However, some stand out for their sheer cruelty. On March 17, 1970 \u2013 52 years ago \u2013 a family of Congress supporters, known as the Sain brothers, in the district of Bardhaman, were tortured and hacked to death by CPI(M) goons in broad daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also Read: <\/strong>Supreme Court declines urgent hearing on appeal against hijab ban verdict of Karnataka High Court<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Naba Kumar Sain \u2014 the eldest son of the family \u2014 had his eyes gouged out, while his younger brothers, Malay and Pranab, were hacked dead in front of the watching family members. Naba Kumar was killed a year later. The incident was clearly done by the CPI(M), because the family members refused to switch allegiance to the CPI(M).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even a private tutor, Jitendranath Rai, who had come to teach the kids in the family, was hacked to death. Later, the mother of the Sain brothers was forced to eat rice smeared with the blood of her sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, on April 30, 1982, the gruesome killings of 16 sadhus and a sadhvi of the Ananda Marg cult happened. They were waylaid on a bridge (the Bijon Setu) in south Kolkata, by CPI(M) goons. That morning, the monks were dragged out of taxis that were taking them to an educational conference at the organization’s headquarters in Tiljala, Kolkata. They were beaten to death and then set on fire simultaneously at three different locations. It happened in front of thousands of eye-witnesses. There have been many more, and this incident is just an addition. However, there are some big differences here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Firstly, this was an intra-party clash. The two factions that went to war had been CPI(M) members during the Left Front rule. Those were the times they fought over the meagre resources of the areas, sand, crushed stones and other building material, all illegally mined. The Left Front members collected their monthly dues from both and never interfered in the internecine feud.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWest Bengal: A history of violence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Ananda Margi killing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
No arrests were ever made, and after several calls for an investigation, a single-member judicial commission was set up to investigate the killings in 2012. The incident has gone into history.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Bogtui is different<\/h2>\n\n\n\n