Overview
- On Wednesday a vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court rejected co-accused Sajal Sarkar’s bail and directed the West Bengal DGP to begin departmental proceedings against investigating officer Saswata Banerjee for dereliction of duty.
- The court instructed police to take effective steps to arrest principal accused Prasanta/Prashant Barman, a Block Development Officer who remains listed as absconding despite earlier High Court and Supreme Court directions to surrender.
- Judges flagged ambiguity in the charge sheet over Barman’s status and said investigators failed to produce necessary documents at a district court hearing in late May, a lapse that coincided with Barman securing bail in a separate drunken-driving case.
- The High Court ordered the Registrar General to notify the DGP and required the DGP to file a report on implementation of these directions with the court within 10 days.
- The case stems from the October 28–29, 2025 disappearance and discovery of gold merchant Swapan Kamila’s mutilated body near Jatragachi, and the court said its orders aim to enforce accountability after what it described as stalled investigative work.