Special Court Summons 18 After CBI Expands Charges in Abhijit Sarkar Murder
The court rebuked the agency’s prolonged probe with a summons for 18 individuals to appear on July 18 after a chargesheet expanded the accused list to 38.
Overview
- Arun Dey, a prime absconder in the 2021 killing of BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar, was arrested by the CBI in June and remains in custody
- On June 30, the CBI filed its second supplementary chargesheet adding two Kolkata Police officers—Subhojit Sen and Ratna Sarkar—and 16 others, raising the total accused to 38
- A special CBI court at Bichar Bhavan on July 4 directed the 18 newly charged individuals, including TMC MLA Paresh Pal and KMC councillors Swapan Samaddar and Papiya Ghosh, to appear on July 18
- During the hearing, the court criticized the CBI for a four-year delay, noting evidence collection ended by mid-2023 and rebuking the agency for seeking extra time to serve summons
- The case underscores friction between central investigators and West Bengal’s political establishment over accountability in post-election violence probes