Kolkata: The family of a jewellery shop owner found dead in the New Town area near Kolkata on October 29 have alleged that he was abducted by a community block development officer (BDO) from north Bengal the previous night, police said.
“The body of 45-year-old Swapan Kamilya, a resident of West Midnapore district’s Danton, was found in a desolate area of New Town on October 29. It bore several injuries and post mortem examination confirmed that he was beaten to death,” a police officer from the Bidhannagar police commissionerate said, requesting anonymity.
“Kamilya used to run a small jewellery business from a rented shop at Salt Lake. The deceased’s family has alleged that Prasanta Burman, a BDO from Jalpaiguri district came to Salt Lake on October 28 with some men and abducted Kamilya. An investigation is on,” the officer added.
Gobinda Bag, who owns the shop where Kamilya ran his business, alleged that he, too, was abducted but was let off.
“The man who abducted us identified himself as Prasanta Burman. He alleged that Kamilya purchased some jewellery that was stolen from his home near Siliguri. He let me go but took Kamilya away,” Bag told the media.
The BDO refused to talk about the charges.
“I don’t have any home. Don’t ask me any question,” he told reporters at Jalpaiguri’s Rajganj, where he is currently posted.
Ratan Kamilya, the deceased’s younger brother, said, “My brother was murdered. Burman earlier came to our village looking for him.”
Khageswar Roy, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator from Rajganj constituency, said, “I don’t know anything about the incident. It is the responsibility of the police to investigate the murder.”
