Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday made the first arrest in connection with the murder of Congress councilor Tapan Kandu in Purulia district of West Bengal.
According to reports, the arrested person is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and a non-teaching employee in a primary school. “He was arrested in the early hours of the day after he was questioned for nearly 21 hours by the investigating agency officials,” a senior official told news agency PTI.
“We have found discrepancies in his answers. There are still many unclear areas which he has to answer. We are questioning him,” the CBI official said.
So far, the Bengal Police has arrested at least five people in connection with the murder. This will be the CBI’s first arrest after the Bengal Police took over the case following the order of the Calcutta High Court.
The accused was earlier taken into custody by the CBI but the central agency had to release him as his health had deteriorated.
“We have found discrepancies in his answers. There are still many unclear aspects which he has to answer. We are questioning him,” the CBI official told PTI.
The murder took place on March 13 when Kandu was shot dead while walking near his residence in Purulia. Kandu’s friend Niranjan Vaishnab, an eyewitness to the murder, was also found dead at his residence last week.
Kandu was a popular leader of the Congress party and won ward number 2 of Jhalda Municipality for the fourth time in the civic polls held in February.
The Congress leader was assassinated weeks after the civic polls, which resulted in five seats each for both the Congress and the TMC. Independent candidates secured 2 seats.
After Kandu’s death, the TMC formed a board in the area.
(With inputs from PTI.)