Suspect in Purulia Congress Councillor Murder Dies in Judicial Custody

A 47-year-old man who had been detained in judicial custody after his arrest by the CBI on suspicion of being a conspirator in the March 2022 murder of Purulia councillor Tapan Kandu of the Jhalda Congress, complained on Sunday of chest discomfort and passed away shortly after.

Together with Tapan's alleged cousin Naren, Satyaban Pramanik, a Group D employee at a high school in Jhalda, Purulia, would operate a restaurant.

According to the police, Pramanik complained of chest discomfort when he woke up in the prison around 5:30 a.m. After examining him, the on-call doctor recommended that he be admitted to the hospital right away. He was sent to Purulia Medical College and Hospital and, upon arrival, was pronounced dead.

His blood sugar dropped, leading physicians to believe he was having a catastrophic cardiac arrest.

Following an autopsy, the family received the corpse.

Bimala, Pramanik's wife, and Sourav, his son, said there was a plot.

"Last night, I had a 30-minute phone conversation with him. I didn't hear him mention any illnesses. He became sick, but how could he die? There is a plot, Bimala said.

She said that Purnima, the wife of Kandu, and Nepal Mahato, the head of the Purulia Congress, had made up accusations against her husband.

"My spouse was a menial worker at a government school and completely innocent. He was unjustly coerced into the killing. Purnima Kandu and Nepal Mahato were conspiring together, she alleged.

Purnima refuted the accusation.

"The CBI arrested Satyaban... We have no role in it," said Nepal Mahato.

While taking a walk in the evening close to his Jhalda residence on March 13, last year, Congress leader Tapan Kandu was assassinated. His family and party claimed that Trinamul was plotting to seize the twelve seats in the local assembly.

In a June charge sheet from the previous year, the CBI ruled out any political motivation, stating that the murder was the result of a family disagreement.