Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted bail to police sub-inspector Ratna Sarkar and home-guard Deepankar Debnath of Narkeldanga Police Station, who are in custody in connection with the alleged murder of BJP activist Abhijit Sarkar on May 2, 2021, the day Assembly election results were declared in West Bengal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, has named both the accused in its chargesheet.
The agency alleged that the two played a role in tampering with evidence. Ratna Sarkar was specifically accused of coercing Abhijit Sarkar’s mother into signing a blank piece of paper following the incident.
While granting bail, Justice Jay Sengupta imposed several restrictions on the accused. The court restrained both Sarkar and Debnath from entering Sitalatala Lane in Narkeldanga, where the victim’s residence is located. They have also been barred from approaching the victim’s mother and brother.
In addition, the state has been directed not to assign either of the accused any posting at Narkeldanga Police Station during the pendency of the trial. The court further ordered that both accused must appear before the trial court whenever summoned.
The case was brought before Justice Sengupta after Justice Suvra Ghosh recused herself from hearing it. During the earlier hearing, Justice Ghosh took exception to submissions made by senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who was appearing in the matter, and released the case from her bench.