Kolkata, 15 July (H.S.) –

In connection with the 2021 West Bengal post-poll violence case, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator and two councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have filed anticipatory bail petitions before a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Jay Sengupta’s bench has admitted the bail pleas of Pares Pal, TMC MLA from Beliaghata, Swapno Samaddar, councillor from Ward 58 and Member of the Mayor-in-Council, and Papia Ghosh, councillor from Ward 30. The matter is likely to be heard on Wednesday.

According to sources, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently summoned the three leaders for questioning, asking them to appear at its Kolkata office by July 18. Fearing potential arrest or coercive action, they approached the High Court seeking pre-arrest protection.

The CBI has already questioned MLA Pares Pal earlier in the case. On July 2, the agency announced that it had filed a supplementary chargesheet on June 20 before a special court in Kolkata, naming 18 new accused, including the TMC legislator and the two councillors.

Alongside Pal, Samaddar, and Ghosh, the supplementary chargesheet also named former Officer-in-Charge of Narkeldanga Police Station, Subhojit Sen, and woman sub-inspector Ratna Sarkar.

The case stems from the murder of Abhijit Sarkar in Beliaghata, Kolkata, on May 2, 2021, shortly after the results of the state assembly elections were declared. The initial investigation was conducted by the Homicide Squad of Kolkata Police, which filed a chargesheet against 15 accused. Following a directive from the Calcutta High Court in August 2021, the CBI took over the investigation and in September 2021, filed a supplementary chargesheet against 20 individuals, including those already named by the city police.

The case remains politically sensitive, with several high-profile figures now under the scanner as the CBI intensifies its probe into the post-poll violence allegations.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh