CBI Arrests TMC Leader In Link With The Murder Of Congress Councillor

The CBI on Wednesday arrested a TMC leader in connection with the murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu in West Bengal's Purulia district, a senior officer said.

The man, a non-teaching staff at a primary school, was arrested in the early hours of the day after he was interrogated for around 21 hours by officers of the central agency, he said.

This is CBI's first arrest after taking over the case from the state police on the directions of the Calcutta High Court.

He was detained by the police earlier as well, but was released after his health condition deteriorated, officials said.

"We have found discrepancies in his answers. There are still several grey areas that he requires to answer. We are questioning him," the CBI officer said.

Earlier, at least five people were arrested by the police in connection with the murder.

Kandu was shot dead near his residence on March 13 while out on a walk. He had won from ward number 2 of Jhalda Municipality for the fourth time in the civic polls held in February and was a popular leader in the area.

The murder happened weeks after the elections to Jhalda Municipality resulted in a hung house, with the Congress and Trinamool Congress having won five seats each and Independents securing two seats. However, the TMC has formed the board.

A key eyewitness in the murder, Kandu's friend Niranjan Baishnab, was found dead at his residence last week.