Birbhum police

Eight people, including three women and two children, were locked in their homes and burnt alive by a mob on Tuesday at village Bogtui near Rampurhat town. The violence took place after a local Trinamool Congress leader, Bhadu Sheikh was killed in a crude bomb attack while many villagers claim a local rivalry led to the killings.

The Calcutta High Court yesterday took suo motu cognisance of reports in some leading newspapers about the custodial death of a 15-year-old and directed the Birbhum police superintendent to file a report. The death happened in the Mallarpur area of the district.