Birbhum violence | CBI arrests man who transported petrol used in massacre

Ritan Shiekh was identified from the CCTV footage

April 14, 2022 12:57 pm | Updated 12:57 pm IST - Rampurhat:

A damaged house at Bogtui village, in Birbhum district. Unidentified people had on March 21 set 10 houses on fire in Bogtui village, killing at least nine people, including women and children. File

A damaged house at Bogtui village, in Birbhum district. Unidentified people had on March 21 set 10 houses on fire in Bogtui village, killing at least nine people, including women and children. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested the e-rickshaw driver who allegedly transported the petrol that was used in setting ablaze the houses in Birbhum's Bogtui village, leading to the death of nine people, an official said.

Ritan Shiekh was nabbed from his house in Bogtui in the early hours, he said.

"He was identified from the CCTV footage. Also, his name cropped up in statements given by other suspects arrested and witnesses," the CBI official told PTI.

Ritan went missing after the massacre, he said.

What caused violence in West Bengal? Talking Politics With Nistula Hebbar

"He used to go into hiding during the day, and return home in the dead of the night," the official said.

The CBI was on the hunt for him, he said.

With this, the CBI has made six arrests in the case after taking over the probe from the West Bengal police on the direction of the Calcutta High Court. The agency has also taken custody of 22 persons earlier arrested by the police.

The CBI searched Ritan's house after his arrest, the official said.

Nine people died of burn injuries as their houses in Bogtui were allegedly firebombed after the murder of local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Bhadu Sheikh.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.