Kolkata, June 25: One more person was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the killing of a minor girl in a bomb blast at Kaliganj in Nadia district of West Bengal, taking the total number of arrested to five.
The arrested person has been identified as Shariful Sheikh. He was among the 24 accused named in the complaint registered by the family members of the victim at the local police station, confirmed an official of the Krishnanagar Police District, under whose jurisdiction Kaliganj comes.
This is the fifth arrest made by the investigating officials so far in the matter. Four other persons, also named in the complaint, were arrested earlier.
The 13-year-old victim, Tamanna Khatun, was allegedly killed after getting hit by splinters of a bomb that was hurled during a victory procession of the ruling Trinamool Congress to celebrate the victory of the party candidate Alifa Ahmed in Kaliganj bypolls. The results were declared on Monday.
The family members of the victim are, however, not happy with the phase-wise arrests. “Our residence was attacked on Monday just because we belong to the opposition camp. So we have no faith in the investigation by the state police. We will go to whatever extent possible, including the Calcutta High Court, to get justice for our deceased daughter,” said the victim’s father, who was at his workplace in Odisha when the mishap took place.
Earlier in the day, the victim’s mother said that since the investigating officials of the Krishnanagar Police District were trying to shield the actual offenders, they felt the necessity for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the matter.
She also claimed that her residence was selectively targeted since her entire family for a long time was ideologically linked and associated with CPI(M).
On Tuesday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance in connection with the death of the girl in a bomb blast at Kaliganj and sought answers to some queries from the Krishnanagar District Superintendent of Police, Amarnath K., under whose jurisdiction Kaliganj comes.
The first query is whether the district police made adequate security arrangements for the victory procession of the Trinamool Congress on Monday.
The second query is on whether there was any intelligence input over possible violence in connection with the victory procession, and lastly, whether any person present there was carrying firearms or bombs.
The commission sought answers to the queries within 72 hours from the time of sending the communique to the district police authorities.