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The Calcutta High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the horrific killing of 10 people in Rampurhat village in Birbhum district. The bench led by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava will hear the matter today at 2 pm.

Allegedly, following the killing of Trinamool Congress leader Bahadur Shaikh at Bogtui village in Birbhum district, several houses were set ablaze in Rampurhat early Tuesday in which eight people, including three women and two children, were charred to death.

As per a media report, Najira Bibi, one of those who managed to survive, told that, "we were sleeping and suddenly heard the sound of bombs ... the miscreants set our houses on fire. I managed to escape but don't know what happened to others in the family."

Taking note of the matter, in a video message posted on his official Twitter account, West Bengal Governor condemned the incident and tweeted, "Horrifying violence and arson orgy Rampurhat, Birbhum indicates state is in grip of violence culture and lawlessness. Already eight lives lost. [sic]"

However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has allegedly responded to his comments by saying, "Your statements have political overtones supporting other political parties to browbeat the Bengal government".

It has also been reported that altogether 11 people have been arrested so far, and the West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh to probe the incident.