Four of family, including two kids, burnt alive

MALDA: Four of a family,

including two kids

, were

burnt alive

at Madantola village under Manikchak

police

station on Sunday night. Five others are still fighting for their lives. Sources claimed a relative set fire to their rooms in the middle of the night over a family dispute. Two persons, including a woman, have been arrested.


One of the victims, Gobinda Mandal, got his father's job after his death. But his older brother Makhan refused to accept it. He used to berate Gobinda over it. Makhan himself got work as a civic volunteer under Manikchak police station. Their eldest brother Bikash lived on farming and another brother Lakshman works out of the state. The four brothers and their families lived in separate rooms in the same house. During the quarrel between Gobinda and Makhan, Bikash always supported Gobinda.

On Sunday night, the neighbours were alerted by the flames engulfing two rooms of the house. Incidentally, only the rooms occupied by the families of Gobina and Bikash caught fire while the two rooms between them were unaffected. Villagers rushed in to find the burning rooms locked from outside.

Those inside were brought out, but by that time Gobinda's daughters Deboshri, 3, and Subhoshri, 2, had died. The other seven persons - Gobinda, his wife, Bikash, his wife and their three children - were sent to Malda Medical College and Hospital. All of them were critical. Early on Monday, Gobinda, 28, and Bikash, 37, succumbed to their injuries.

It was found that tiles from the roofs of the two rooms were removed and the doors were locked. Police also found bottles of kerosene and petrol from the spot. "It is evident that there is a case of sabotage," said Majumder.

Makhan was not found at home. Finally, police arrested a neighbour, Kulesh Mandal and Makhan's wife Kanchan. Sources said that apart from the feud over their father's job, Makhan fought with Gobinda over other issues. Kulesh, too, had a dispute with Bikash and Gobinda over the boundary of their land.