Bogtui killings accused found dead in custody

New Delhi, December 12

In a suspected case of suicide, the prime accused in the violence in Bogtui village of West Bengal’s Birbhum district was found dead in CBI custody on Monday, officials said.

The body of Lalan Sheikh, who was arrested on December 4 from a hideout along the Bengal-Jharkhand border, was “found hanging” in the agency’s Rampurhat camp office in Birbhum.

“The body of the prime accused in the Bogtui violence was found hanging in the washroom of the guest house, where we have set up our temporary camp, around 4.30 pm,” a CBI source said.

At least 10 persons were killed in the arson and violence in Bogtui that followed the murder of local TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh on March 21.The CBI is probing the case on the orders of the Calcutta High Court.

The federal probe agency has alleged that it was a “direct fallout” of Sheikh’s killing.

After Sheikh was killed, his loyalists and group members, armed with sharp weapons, crude bombs and country-made firearms, went on the rampage, burning the houses of rivals. The CBI claims that the rivalry between groups of Palash Sheikh and Sona Sheikh for dominance in the area and control over the income from illegal collection of money from commercial vehicles and other unlawful activities had existed for a long time.