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Bengal Congress councillor’s killers received ₹7 lakh from his brother: Police
Naren Kandu’s son, Dipak, who contested the civic polls on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket against his uncle and lost, was the first person to be arrested. The Congress and Tapan Kandu’s family have demanded a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging that TMC leaders and the local police have links with the murder.
A sum of ₹7 lakh was given to the killers of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu who was gunned down in public at Jhalda in Bengal’s Purulia district on March 13, district superintendent of police (SP) S Selvamurugan said on Sunday.
“The money was given by Tapan Kandu’s brother, Naren Kandu, who was arrested on Saturday. He is the prime suspect. The murder was the fallout of an old family dispute,” Selvamurugan said.
A local businessman, Asif Khan, was also arrested on Saturday, a day after an alleged criminal, Kalebar Singh, was nabbed by the West Bengal police from Bokaro in Jharkhand in the early hours of Friday in connection with the murder.
The SP said it was Khan who contacted Kalebar Singh.
“Some more people are involved. They are hiding in Bihar and Jharkhand. We will nab them soon. We have also identified a vehicle used in the crime,” he said.
Naren Kandu’s son, Dipak, who contested the civic polls on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket against his uncle and lost, was the first person to be arrested. The Congress and Tapan Kandu’s family have demanded a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging that TMC leaders and the local police have links with the murder.
Tapan Kandu’s wife, Purnima, had alleged that the inspector-in-charge (IC) of Jhalda police station, Sanjib Ghosh, was putting pressure on her husband to join the TMC since the verdict to the civic polls led to a hung board at Jhalda municipality.
The SP said on Sunday that the murder had nothing to do with politics and there was no involvement of Ghosh.
“No involvement of the IC of Jhalda was found during investigation,” said Selvamurugan, adding that an audio clip, purportedly containing a telephonic conversation between Sanjib Ghosh and Mithun Kandu, another nephew of the victim, would be examined later.
In the clip, the authenticity of which was not verified by HT, the man claiming to be the inspector-in-charge could be heard asking Mithun Kandu to meet him at the police station.
Purnima Kandu and the Congress district unit president, Nepal Mahato, claimed on Sunday that there was no old dispute between Tapan and Naren Kandu.
“The SP is shielding the IC of Jhalda police station. My husband did not have any enmity with his brother,” Purnima Kandu told the local media.
“Let the SP provide proof of the dispute he is talking about,” said Mahato.
“We cannot discuss this in public. We will provide the evidence before the court,” said Selvamurugan, reacting to the accusation.
A Purulia court remanded Naren Kandu and Asif Khan in police custody for 14 days when they were produced before the judge on Sunday.
Kalebar Singh was also remanded in police custody for 14 days on Friday after he was brought to Bengal. He is suspected to be one of the hitmen, a district police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Anupam Dutta, a TMC councillor, and Tapan Kandu were killed in North 24 Parganas and Purulia on March 13, days after they won the municipal polls held on February 27. The crimes rocked the state.
Purnima Kandu alleged the involvement of the Purulia police and demanded a CBI probe. She filed a petition before the Calcutta high court. The petition was heard on Friday and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha took on record a report submitted by the Purulia SP. The next hearing is scheduled to take place on Monday.
Five personnel of the Purulia district police were confined to their barracks on March 20 following charges of dereliction of duty during Kandu’s murder on a public road. He was shot from close range in front of his associates and several eyewitnesses.
Purnima Kandu alleged that the police personnel, who were manning a security check point on the road during the murder, did not respond to the family’s request to rush to the crime scene which was within walking distance.
