Eatery owner arrested by CBI in Bengal Congress leader’s murder dies in custody

Tapan Kandu, a Congress councillor at Purulia’s Jhalda town municipality, was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants when he was out for a walk on March 13 last year

Satyaban Pramanik, an eatery owner arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022 for the murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu in Bengal’s Purulia district, died in judicial custody on Sunday, district police officials said.

Since eatery owner was an accused in a CBI case, the postmortem would be conducted in presence of officials from the federal agency. (Representative Image)

“Pramanik had been lodged at Purulia district correctional home since last year. He was undergoing treatment for acute diabetes. Pramanik’s condition deteriorated on Sunday morning. He was rushed to the district hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival,” a police official from Purulia said on condition of anonymity.

Since Pramanik was an accused in a CBI case, the postmortem would be conducted in presence of officials from the federal agency, the police official added.

Kandu, a Congress councillor at Purulia’s Jhalda town municipality, was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants when he was out for a walk on March 13 last year.

Asif Khan, a trader, Kalebar Singh, an alleged contract killer, Tapan Kandu’s elder brother Naren, and the latter’s son, Dipak, were arrested by the Jhalda police before CBI took over the investigation. A dispute over property led to the crime, the police said.

The CBI probe was ordered on April 4 by Calcutta high court judge Rajasekhar Mantha after hearing on a petition filed by the victim’s widow, Purnima Kandu, who is also an elected Congress councillor. The CBI arrested Satyaban Pramanik days after the court order.

Justice Mantha ordered the CBI to also probe the suspected death by suicide of Niranjan Baishnab, an eyewitness to the murder and an old friend of the victim.

Baishnab was found hanging in his home on April 6, two days after the court ordered the CBI probe. A hand-written note found in his room said he could not take the pressure of being repeatedly summoned and questioned by the Jhalda police. His family filed a complaint against the local police.

The CBI filed a partial charge sheet at the district court in June 2022 and prayed for time to carry on the investigation.

“I am happy that a key accused in my husband’s murder has died. He deserved to be hung,” Purnima Kandu told the local media after Pramanik’s death.