Firefighters were prevented from dousing fire, says witness to Birbhum arson
India Today
A resident of the Rampurhat locality in West Bengal's Birbhum, who saw the houses burning and heard people screaming inside, said that firefighters were stopped from dousing fire that killed eight people, including two children.
A witness to the Birbhum arson, which claimed 11 lives, said that fire brigade personnel did arrive at the site, but were prevented from dousing the fire.
“I live right next to Sona Seikh, whose house was among those that were burnt. Our family came home from the hospital that night and saw that the house was on fire,” said Marjina Bibi.
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“It was around 9 pm. We did not see the police. The fire brigade came, but they were not allowed to douse the fire. We couldn’t see who prevented them from dousing the blaze. The houses were of Sona Sheikh, Mihilal Seikh, and Vanirul Seikh.”
“We heard people screaming inside and soon there was an explosion. It was probably an LPG cylinder,” she said. “We did not see who started the fire,” she added.
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Nearly a dozen houses were set on fire in Rampurhat village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including two children. The incident occurred soon after the alleged murder of TMC panchayat leader Bhadu Pradhan, who was attacked with crude bombs by unknown assailants the day before.
