Prasanta Burman, a suspended block development officer (BDO) and prime suspect in the 2025 murder of a jewellery shop owner in West Bengal, was arrested from Kolkata’s New Town area on Monday night on charges of drunk and rash driving, the police said.
"Burman was released on bail in the traffic violation case late in the evening," a police officer said, requesting anonymity, on Tuesday night.
According to the police, Burman was driving a black SUV when he allegedly hit a pedestrian in the New Town area on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata.
“Burman was driving a black SUV when he hit a pedestrian. He bad-mouthed traffic police personnel on duty and refused to take a breathalyser test. He was taken to Barasat court on Tuesday afternoon for production in the traffic rules violation case,” a Bidhan Nagar Commissionerate officer said on condition of anonymity.
The murder case against Burman is being investigated by the detective department of the Bidhan Nagar Commissionerate. No officer from the department was available for comment till Tuesday afternoon.
Burman, against whom an arrest warrant had earlier been issued, was declared “absconding” by police. At the time of the crime, he was posted as BDO at Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district of north Bengal.
{{/usCountry}}Burman, against whom an arrest warrant had earlier been issued, was declared “absconding” by police. At the time of the crime, he was posted as BDO at Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district of north Bengal.
{{/usCountry}}The case relates to the murder of 45-year-old Swapan Kamilya, a resident of Dantan in West Midnapore district, whose body was found in a deserted area of New Town on October 29, 2025. The post-mortem examination recorded 32 injuries on the body.
Kamilya’s family alleged in a written complaint that he had been abducted a day earlier from Salt Lake by Burman and several associates in a vehicle fitted with a blue beacon.
Kamilya operated a small jewellery business from a rented shop in Salt Lake. His landlord, Gobinda Bag, claimed he was also abducted during the same incident before being released later.
Five persons, including a driver employed by Burman, were subsequently arrested by Bidhannagar police.
Named as the prime suspect, Burman had approached the Barasat court in North 24 Parganas district, which granted him anticipatory bail on November 26, 2025.
During the hearing, special public prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee described Burman as the main accused and argued that custodial interrogation was necessary. Chatterjee told the court that several pieces of evidence, including CCTV footage, pointed to Burman’s alleged involvement in the crime.
On December 16, 2025, justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the Calcutta high court questioned the Barasat court’s decision to grant anticipatory bail and asked whether the case diary had been examined before passing the order.
Justice Ghosh later rejected Burman’s anticipatory bail plea on December 22 and directed him to surrender before the trial court within 72 hours. Burman was subsequently suspended by the state government.