The investigating officer of the Kankurgachi BJP activist murder case in 2021, and a home guard of Kolkata Police who had been chargesheeted by CBI and were sent to judicial remand, were granted bail by the high court on Tuesday.

Inspector Ratna Sarkar, the investigating officer who probed the murder of Avijit Sarkar, a BJP activist, in the Narkeldanga police station area, and home guard Dipankar Debnath, also posted at the same police station in 2021, were charged with the murder by the CBI.

Sarkar, a BJP activist from Kankurgachi, was killed in Narkeldanga during the violence after the announcement of the results of the 2021 Assembly Polls in the state.

His brother, Biswajit, had lodged a complaint based on which a murder case was started. Later, the probe was handed over to the CBI.

Recently, the CBI attached the names of the then officer-in-charge of Narkeldanga police station, Subhajit Sen, the then investigating officer of the case, Ratna Sarkar, and home guard Dipankar Debnath, who was then attached to Narkeldanga police station, as accused. Their names were mentioned in the second supplementary chargesheet.

The court of Justice Jay Sengupta accepted their bail prayer and granted them conditional bail on Tuesday.

According to the conditions imposed by the court, the petitioners (Sarkar and Debnath) will have to assist the CBI in the probe.

“They will have to be present in court when asked by the CBI court during the hearing of the cases. They will not be allowed to go outside the respective areas (police station) without prior permission from the CBI court,” said a lawyer.

Both Sarkar and Debnath, along with former officer-in-charge of Narkeldanga police station Subhajit Sen, have been named as accused in the CBI’s second supplementary chargesheet. They were sent to judicial remand.

Sen, who had retired from service as an assistant commissioner of Kolkata Police, had moved a bail prayer separately at Calcutta High Court last month. The hearing is pending before the court.