Calcutta HC questions pre-arrest bail for BDO accused of murder

KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court on Tuesday raised questions on the district court’s decision to grant pre-arrest bail to a block development officer (BDO) named in the murder of a jewellery shop owner in October this year, wondering if the court had examined the case diary before delivering its decision.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh asked whether the Barasat court in North 24 Parganas district had reviewed the case diary before granting bail to Prasanta Burman, the BDO, on November 26.

Justice Ghosh observed that it was unclear whether the Barasat court judge applied his mind when granting anticipatory bail. When Burman’s lawyers opposed the state’s plea seeking cancellation of the arrest shield, the high court asked them to file their arguments by December 20.

The matter will be heard again on December 22,” the lawyer added.

Swapan Kamilya, a 45-year-old resident of West Midnapore district’s Danton, was found dead in a desolate area of New Town on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata on October 29. The post-mortem report said 32 wounds were found on the body.

Kamilya’s family alleged that he had been abducted by Prasanta Burman and some men from Salt Lake in a car fitted with a blue beacon on October 28. Kamilya used to run a small jewellery business from a rented shop in Salt Lake. Gobinda Bag, his landlord, alleged that he, too, was abducted in the same incident but was later let off

During a hearing on the BDO’s anticipatory bail, special public prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee described him as the main suspect on November 26. Chatterjee told the Barasat court that the BDO needed to be taken into custody for interrogation and underlined that Burman’s suspected role in the crime was established by several pieces of evidence including security camera footage.

Five people, including a driver who worked for Burman, have been arrested by the Bidhannagar police, who are investigating the case.

Burman has avoided the media since November 8 when the first arrests were made. On November 7, he told the media in Jalpaiguri that he neither owns a property in the Salt Lake-New Town area nor had any gold jewellery. He claimed that he did not take a flight to Kolkata on October 28.