Lalan Sheikh's death: CBI suspends 4 officials present at camp where mishap occurred

Kolkata, Jan 16 Following an internal investigation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has suspended four of its officers who were present at the agency's camp office at Rampurhat in Birbhum district where Lalan Sheikh mysteriously died on December 12 last year.

Sheikh was the prime accused behind the Bogtui carnage killing nine people in March last year.

The four officers have been suspended on charges of negligence to duty, sources said.

According to the sources, those suspended include deputy superintendent Vilas Bala Madghut, inspector Rahul Priyodorshi as well as two other constables. These four central agency staff were present at the camp office at Rampurhat on December 12 evening while the mishap took place.

However, following the internal investigation, CBI had given clean-chit to Sushanta Bhattacharya, the agency's investigation officer for the multi-crore cattle-smuggling scam in West Bengal, despite the latter was named in the FIR on Lalan Sheikh's death by Birbhum district police on which the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police is currently conducting a probe.

CBI sources further said that the replacement for the four persons suspended has already been arranged.

"The suspension is a standard operating procedure. Generally, in such cases of custodial death, when the internal investigation is conducted those responsible for the custody concerned remain suspended. The Calcutta High Court has also been informed in the matter since a case on Lalan Sheikh's custodial death is going on there," a source in CBI said.

On January 11, a Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Jay Sengupta expressed doubts over the post-mortem report of Lalan Sheikh and also forwarded to both All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, as well as to the SSKM Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata for the respective observations.

The CBI has already challenged the state police's FIR in the Calcutta High Court claiming it to be motivated as it named Sushanta Bhattacharya and having no connection with the separate central agency team probing the Bogtui carnage.