West Bengal police name 7 CBI officials in FIR in custodial death case

The West Bengal police have named seven Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials including a deputy inspector general (DIG) and a superintendent of police (SP) in connection with the death of Bogtui massacre case prime accused in the federal agency’s custody on Monday.

Susanta Bhattacharya, the CBI’s investigating officer of the cattle smuggling case in which Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondol was arrested in August this year, has also been named in the FIR.

“Seven CBI officials, including the investigating officer of the Bogtui massacre case, have been named in the FIR on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim’s wife under Sections 302 (murder), 385 (extortion) 509 (intending to insult modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code,” said an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Birbhum district who did not wish to be named.

On Monday, Lalan Sheikh, a prime accused in the Bogtui massacre case was found hanging while he was in CBI custody. Ten persons were burnt alive at Bogtui in Birbhum on March 21 in retaliation to the murder of a local TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh.

The federal agency on Wednesday moved the Calcutta high court challenging the inclusion of CBI officials in the FIR who were not related to the Bogtui massacre case or the custodial death case.

Even though the CBI claimed that Lalan Sheikh died by suicide, his family members alleged that he was beaten to death in custody. His wife Reshma Bibi also alleged that CBI officials had demanded ₹50 lakh to suppress the case.

“She (Reshma Bibi) stated in her complaint that her husband (when he was alive) had told her that the CBI officials were being advised over phone by the agency’s DIG, SP and Bhattacharya to torture him unless he mentions the names of influential persons,” said an officer who did not wish to be named.

Both the Bogtui massacre and the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam cases are being probed by the CBI on the orders of the Calcutta high court and some district and block-level TMC leaders have been arrested.

The state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken over the probe into the custodial death case.

Meanwhile, the CBI vacated its camp office at Rampurhat in Birbhum where Sheikh was found hanging and shifted all documents related to the Bogtui massacre to his office at CGO Complex near Kolkata.

On Wednesday, family members, close aides of Lalan Sheikh and villagers staged protests outside the CBI’s camp office demanding punishment to the agency’s officials.