Birbhum Violence: CBI Nabs Man Who Allegedly Brought Fuel Used To Burn Houses

The man, named Ritan Shiekh, was arrested from his house in Bogtui village on Thursday morning.

The Quint
India
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<div class="paragraphs"><p>Nine people were charred to death in West Bengal's Birbhum district on 21 March in retaliation to the murder of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh.&nbsp;</p></div>
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Nine people were charred to death in West Bengal's Birbhum district on 21 March in retaliation to the murder of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh. 

(Photo: PTI)

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Thursday, 14 April, that it nabbed an e-rickshaw driver who had allegedly brought the fuel that was used to burn houses in West Bengal's Birbhum district on 21 March, which caused the death of nine people.

The man, named Ritan Shiekh, was arrested from his house in Bogtui village on Thursday morning.

"He was identified from the CCTV footage. Also, his name cropped up in statements given by other suspects arrested and witnesses," news agency PTI quoted a CBI official as saying.

The official also said that Shiekh went missing after the incident took place on 21 March. "He used to go into hiding during the day, and return home in the dead of the night."

Six people, including Sheikh, have been arrested by the CBI so far in connection with the case. The central agency had taken up the case after the Calcutta High Court transferred it to them from the West Bengal police.

Meanwhile, the CBI on 8 April said in its preliminary report that the "massacre" in Birbhum was pre-planned and was a result of a direct fallout of the murder of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Bhadu Sheikh.

The central agency had submitted the 22-page investigative report on the incident to the court on 8 April.

(With inputs from PTI.)

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