Kolkata, Oct 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed former Block Development Officer (BDO) Prashant Barman to surrender within 48 hours in connection with the murder case of gold trader Swapan Kamilya.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) observed that if Prashant Barman fails to surrender within the stipulated period, steps should be initiated for the attachment of his properties.
The court also directed the state government to stop payment of his salary immediately.
The bench asked the state to prepare a list of Prashant Barman’s properties after the expiry of the 48-hour deadline.
Questioning the state authorities, the court sought to know why he had remained absconding for such a long period and why steps had not been taken for property attachment.
In October last year, Prashant Barman, the suspended BDO of Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district, was named as an accused in the murder of gold trader Swapan Kamilya, a resident of West Midnapore.
He did not surrender before the lower court despite a Supreme Court order directing him to do so in January.
Barman was subsequently arrested in a separate case involving alleged violations of road-safety rules and was granted bail the following day.
The state had informed the High Court that Barman was untraceable.
The court had earlier questioned the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) regarding its failure to locate him.
Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty had also raised questions about how Barman continued to receive his salary as a government employee despite being reported missing.
Last year, Barman, then serving as BDO of Rajganj, was identified as the principal accused in the alleged kidnapping and murder of gold trader Swapan Kamilya in the Duttabad area of Salt Lake.
He has remained absconding since then.
The CID took over the investigation in July; however, Barman could not be traced despite repeated efforts.
Allegations had also surfaced that he continued to draw his salary during this period.
On October 29 last year, Swapan Kamilya’s body was recovered from Jatragachhi under the New Town Police Station area.
Investigators alleged that he had been kidnapped and murdered.
Barman is one of the accused in the case.
He had secured anticipatory bail from the Barasat Court and the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Court.
Challenging those orders, Bidhannagar Police approached the Calcutta High Court.
The High Court subsequently set aside the anticipatory bail orders and directed him to surrender.
Later, on January 23, the Supreme Court also ordered him to surrender.
However, despite the apex court’s direction, he remained beyond the reach of law-enforcement agencies.
On May 25, Barman was detained by police for allegedly violating road-safety regulations.
It was alleged that his vehicle struck a pedestrian in the Eco Park Police Station area of New Town during the night.
Police reached the spot and arrested him.
The next day, he was produced before the Barasat Court.
During the hearing, the presiding judge sought records relating to the earlier murder case.
The magistrate waited until the evening of May 26.
When the documents were not produced, Barman was granted bail.
He has remained untraceable since then.
Source: IANS
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