The spectre of violence haunts Rampurhat

Villagers flee their homes after violence in Birbhum

With charred walls, broken window panes and heaps of ash strewn around, Sona Sheikh’s single-storeyed house stands out in Baktui village in Rampurhat town of West Bengal’s Birbhum district. Drones were flying atop the house guarded by policemen from all sides as a delegation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) thronged to the damaged dwelling on Wednesday. 

On Monday evening, seven persons, including women and children, were burnt alive in this house. The number of deaths following the murder of Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Deputy Pradhan Bhadu Sheikh stands at eight.

The room located at the south-west of the house is visible. All the victims had assembled here to escape violence but it was their charred remains that were extricated by fire fighters on Tuesday morning. 

More than 50 houses in the neighborhood are locked and almost all men, women and children have fled the village after the violence. “Can I stay in my house tonight? I have weak knees, and I have two cows and some poultry to take care of,” Shah Alam Sheikh asked as a BJP delegation led by Suvendu Adhikari was visiting the village. All his family members, including his two sons and wife, fled Baktui on Tuesday morning. Mr. Sheikh, who fed the cows while taking an occasional break for prayers, narrated the events of Monday night. 

“We heard bombs being hurled and men running in the village shouting, ‘ Jaake paabi maar, sobai ke sesh kor (beat up everyone, finish them off). All of us closed our doors and stayed inside the whole night,” he said. 

Mr. Sheikh said that the men who had come to take revenge after the murder of Bhadu Sheikh, attacked the house of Sona Sheikh and stayed there all night, while nobody dared to come out of their houses. It was only on Tuesday morning that people came to know of the gruesome incident. The accounts of several villagers like Mr. Sheikh leaves little that doubt that the attack on Monday evening was in retaliation for the murder of Bhadu Sheikh just hours previously.  

The newly constructed house of Bhadu Sheikh, and that of Sona Seikh, stand only 50 metres apart. Their construction is elaborate for a rural hamlet like Baktui, hinting at the owners’ higher economic means beyond agriculture and livestock rearing.