Kolkata, Dec 9 (LatestNewsX) – A Barasat court in West Bengal turned down a bail petition filed by former Trinamool Congress leader Sajal Sarkar, who faces charges in the death of a gold trader. Sarkar, once head of the party’s Cooch Behar‑II block, was taken into custody on 13 November.
The public prosecutor presented earlier documents linking Sarkar to the case, as well as evidence placing him at the site on 28 October. With those facts before the judge, the bail request was rejected.
At the hearing, the prosecutor also raised concerns that the widow of the slain trader, who is currently in Odisha, has been pressured to drop the case after Rajganj Block Development Officer (BDO) Prashant Barman obtained interim bail. He alleged that she is being threatened not to return to West Bengal. The government lawyer further argued why Sarkar should not be freed, noting that witnesses could place him in several locations on the day of the murder, including New Town.
Sarkar had been accused of anti‑party conduct long before his name surfaced in the Swapan Kamilya murder case. Party sources say he received a show‑cause notice but never responded, leading to his expulsion once the link to the gold trader’s death emerged.
Simultaneously, the Bidhannagar Police have petitioned the Calcutta High Court to overturn Barman’s anticipatory bail. They claim Barman submitted forged documents to secure that bail in the Duttabad area murder. Police officers have argued that Barman helped orchestrate the killing, and the death has been linked to his alleged kidnapping of Swapan Kamilya.
On 28 October, the gold trader vanished from his shop in Duttabad after being taken in a vehicle with a blue beacon related to a jewelry theft. When the family filed a missing‑person report at Bidhannagar South Police, they learned the body was found in Jatragachi, New Town, and recognized it from Swapan’s photo. A murder and kidnapping case was then registered, and the victim’s relatives blamed Barman for the entire incident.
In the course of the inquiry, Bidhannagar Police arrested five individuals, including Barman’s driver Raju Dhali, close associate Tufan Thapa, Sajal Sarkar, and Sarkar’s brother Vivekananda. Authorities suspect that after the murder an attempt was made to dispose of the body in a car with a government blue light, raising early doubts about Barman’s involvement.
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