'Khooni' slogans raised against ex-MLA appears in Abhijit Sarkar murder case

A Special CBI Court in Kolkata on Thursday fixed June 23 as the next hearing date in the Abhijit Sarkar murder case, with charges likely to be framed against the accused on that day. During the court proceedings, former Trinamool Congress MLA Paresh Pal appeared before the court, while former Kolkata Municipal Corporation representative Swapan Samaddar and former Narkeldanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shubhajit Sen were absent.

According to court proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier filed a chargesheet in the case and later submitted a supplementary chargesheet against 18 individuals, including Paresh Pal, Swapan Samaddar, Papia Ghosh and Shubhajit Sen. The case relates to the killing of BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar during the post-poll violence of 2021 in the Narkeldanga area.

After the hearing, Paresh Pal was taken out of the court premises on a stretcher and escorted towards an ambulance. During that time, slogans of "thief" and "murderer" were raised against him by Biswajit Sarkar, brother of the deceased Abhijit Sarkar. The situation briefly turned tense, and a scuffle reportedly broke out inside the court premises before Paresh was escorted away.

Lawyers representing Abhijit Sarkar's family informed the court that charges could not be framed because all accused persons were not present. Counsel for Shubhajit Sen stated that his client was unable to attend due to illness. Judge Santosh Kumar Pathak scheduled the next hearing for June 23, when the court is expected to consider framing charges if all accused are present.

In a separate development, Swapan Samaddar was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Sealdah in connection with a 2022 case involving allegations of sexual harassment, assault and vandalism. The court remanded him to police custody until June 17 and rejected his bail application. His appearance in that case prevented him from attending the hearing in the Abhijit Sarkar murder case.