The Calcutta High Court has given suspended block development officer Prasanta Barman 48 hours to surrender to police in connection with the alleged abduction and murder of a gold trader, while directing the state to stop his salary and attach his property.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice R.V. Ghuge described the direction as Barman’s “last chance” and ordered him to surrender by 3.30pm on October 8. The court also asked the Criminal Investigation Department to submit a compliance report on December 14, when the case is scheduled to come up for hearing again.
Barman, who was the block development officer of Rajganj in Jalpaiguri, is the prime accused in the abduction and murder of 45-year-old gold trader Swapan Kamilya in Duttabad, Salt Lake. According to the report, he has been absconding for about a year despite a direction from the Supreme Court to surrender.
The bench questioned how a government officer could continue to draw a salary while allegedly evading the Supreme Court’s direction. It also criticised the CID for failing to trace him during the period he was on the run.
The Supreme Court had rejected Barman’s anticipatory bail plea in January and advised him to surrender in connection with the case. He did not do so, according to the report before the High Court.
Barman was arrested on May 25 in a separate hit-and-run case in New Town. He was allegedly driving a Mahindra Thar at high speed after hitting a pedestrian and was stopped when a private-sector employee parked his two-wheeler in front of the vehicle. The man allegedly called police after Barman threatened him.
Officers from Eco Park police station took Barman into custody and later arrested him. However, a Barasat court granted him bail on a personal bond of ₹1,000 because the charges in the hit-and-run case were bailable.
The High Court’s latest order places the immediate responsibility on Barman to surrender before police and on state authorities to enforce the directions concerning his salary and property. The CID must report compliance to the court on December 14.
