Kolkata, July 22 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a report on the involvement of two serving Kolkata Police personnel named as accused in the murder of BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar during the post-poll violence that followed the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The directive was issued by a single-judge bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh during a hearing on bail petitions filed by Sub-Inspector Ratna Sarkar and Home Guard Dipankar Debnath, both of whom were remanded to judicial custody till July 31 by a special court on July 18.

The CBI has named them, along with retired Assistant Commissioner Subhojit Sen (then Officer-in-Charge of Narkeldanga Police Station), in its latest supplementary charge sheet in the case.

Justice Ghosh has asked the CBI to submit a detailed report by Friday, when the matter will be taken up for the next hearing.

At the July 18 hearing, the special court observed that the alleged involvement of police officers in a murder case severely undermines public trust. “If a protector becomes a killer, the negative impact on society is immense,” the judge remarked while sending the trio to judicial custody.

Abhijit Sarkar, a BJP worker from North Kolkata’s Kankurgachi area, was allegedly murdered on May 2, 2021, the day the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were announced, with the Trinamool Congress registering a sweeping victory.

The case was initially investigated by the homicide squad of Kolkata Police, which filed a chargesheet naming 15 accused.

Following an order from the Calcutta High Court, the investigation was handed over to the CBI in August 2021. The agency later filed a supplementary chargesheet in September 2021, naming 20 accused, including the 15 earlier named by city police.

In its latest move, the CBI submitted another supplementary chargesheet on July 2, 2024, naming 18 more accused, taking the total number of accused in the case to 38.

–IANS

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