Two men, including the driver of Rajganj BDO Prasanta Barman and a contractor known as his acquaintance, have been arrested in connection with the murder of jeweller Swapan Kamilla, whose body was found in New Town last month.
Police identified the duo as Raju Dhali and Tufan Thapa.
Dhali is the driver, and Thapa is a contractor.
The cops said their “direct link” has been found with the crime.
Barman confirmed that Dhali would drive his car whenever he was in Calcutta. He also said that Thapa was known to him.
“Dhali drives me around whenever I visit Calcutta. Thapa is a contractor whom I met for some official work. He is being tagged as my friend, but that is incorrect. Now, they are being subjected to harassment. This is a conspiracy against me,” Barman told Metro.
Sources said that based on the witness accounts and electronic evidence, the police have confirmed the presence of the duo at the spot where Kamilla was last seen in New Town on October 28.
The police have examined the landlord of the space where Kamilla was running a small jewellery workshop in Salt Lake’s Duttabad, who had claimed that Kamilla and he were allegedly forced into two cars and taken to a building in New Town, where he was released.
The police have also recorded the statement of a former dog trainer at Barman’s house, who has reportedly told the police that he had stolen Barman’s gold jewellery and handed it over to Kamilla for a quality check.
“I had admitted the theft to BDO sir and also told him that I gave the jewellery to Kamilla. I was whipped with a belt and flogged with bamboo sticks on October 28. I was released in the evening, but Kamilla was still in their captivity till then,” Ashoke Kar, the dog trainer, had said on Friday.
Sources said Kar had also recorded his statement before a magistrate on Friday.
Thapa and Dhali were produced before a court in Bidhannagar and were sent in police remand for 12 days, the police said.
“According to the police, they have found direct involvement of the accused duo through witness statements and CCTV footage,” said
public prosecutor Rahul Kanojia.
Kamilla, who was allegedly kidnapped from his Duttabad workshop on October 28, was found dead with multiple injuries on him at a deserted stretch in New Town the following day.
His family later alleged that he was kidnapped and murdered, naming BDO Barman in the complaint.