Tapan Kandu murder case: Accused contract killer Kalebar Singh dies in Purulia hospital
Synopsis
Two of the five accused in the 2022 murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu have now died before the trial ended — Satyavan Pramanik in November 2023 and now contract killer Kalebar Singh on 4 August. The CBI case, transferred from a state SIT on Calcutta High Court orders, is losing key accused before a verdict is reached, raising urgent questions about the pace of justice in one of West Bengal's most politically charged killings.
Key Takeaways
Kalebar Singh (58) , a contract killer accused in the 2022 murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu , died at Purulia Government Medical College and Hospital on 4 August .
Singh had been in judicial custody since April 2022 and was hospitalised for approximately four months before his death.
He is the second accused to die before trial; Satyavan Pramanik died in November 2023 .
The CBI named five accused in its June 2022 chargesheet; Naren Kandu and Deepak Kandu are currently on bail from the Calcutta High Court .
Tapan Kandu was shot dead on 13 March 2022 in Jhalda , days after a politically sensitive hung verdict in local municipality elections.
A contract killer accused in the politically charged 2022 murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu has died while receiving treatment at Purulia Government Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal, police confirmed on Tuesday, 4 August. The deceased, Kalebar Singh (58), had remained in judicial custody since his arrest in April 2022.
Circumstances of Death
According to police, Singh had been lodged at the Purulia District Correctional Facility following his arrest and had been suffering from prolonged illness. He was admitted to Purulia Medical College approximately four months before his death. An inquest report was conducted in the presence of a magistrate on Tuesday morning, with the autopsy scheduled for Wednesday. The body is to be handed over to his family thereafter.
Singh's wife, Pratima Devi, said her husband had been unwell for a long time and was taken to multiple hospitals for treatment. 'My husband was ill for a long time. He was taken to several hospitals for treatment. We placed an application for bail before the court, but it was not granted. I don't know whether my husband committed murder or not. But I have no complaint against anyone,' she said.
Background: The Murder of Tapan Kandu
Tapan Kandu, a Congress councillor of Jhalda Municipality in Purulia district, was shot dead by assailants on 13 March 2022 while on a morning walk with friends. The killing triggered a major political controversy in West Bengal, coming shortly after a hung verdict in the Jhalda Municipality elections, where both Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) had secured five seats each in the 12-member civic body. An Independent councillor had reportedly extended support to Congress around that time, potentially enabling the party to form the municipal board — lending the murder a sharp political dimension.
CBI Chargesheet and Trial Status
The case was initially investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government before being transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the orders of the Calcutta High Court. In its chargesheet filed in June 2022, the CBI named five accused: Deepak Kandu, Kalebar Singh, Naren Kandu, Mohammad Ashiq, and Satyavan Pramanik.
Singh is now the second accused to die before the trial's conclusion. Satyavan Pramanik died in November 2023 due to illness. Naren Kandu and Deepak Kandu are currently out on bail granted by the Calcutta High Court.
What Happens Next
With two of the five named accused now deceased, the CBI's case faces further attrition before it reaches a verdict. The trial's pace — already slow by the standards of high-profile political killings — will come under renewed scrutiny. The Kandu family and Congress have long demanded swift justice; Singh's death before conviction adds another unresolved chapter to a case that exposed the fragility of civic politics in rural West Bengal.
Point of View
And the trial has moved at a pace that has now allowed two of five accused to die in custody without conviction. For Congress and the Kandu family, each such death narrows the prospect of accountability. The broader pattern — high-profile political killings in West Bengal, CBI transfers, bail grants, and slow trials — repeats with troubling consistency and deserves harder scrutiny than it typically receives.
NationPress
4 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Tapan Kandu and why was he killed?
Tapan Kandu was a Congress councillor of Jhalda Municipality in Purulia district, West Bengal, who was shot dead on 13 March 2022 while on a morning walk. His murder occurred shortly after a hung verdict in local municipality elections, in a politically charged context where Congress was on the verge of forming the municipal board with independent support.
Who is Kalebar Singh and what was his role in the case?
Kalebar Singh (58) was one of five accused named in the CBI's June 2022 chargesheet in the Tapan Kandu murder case, identified as a contract killer. He had been in judicial custody since April 2022 and died on 4 August while undergoing treatment at Purulia Government Medical College and Hospital.
How many accused in the Tapan Kandu case have died?
Two of the five accused named in the CBI chargesheet have died before the trial concluded — Satyavan Pramanik in November 2023 due to illness, and Kalebar Singh on 4 August. The remaining accused Naren Kandu and Deepak Kandu are currently on bail granted by the Calcutta High Court.
Why was the Tapan Kandu case transferred to the CBI?
The case was initially investigated by a Special Investigation Team constituted by the West Bengal state government. The Calcutta High Court subsequently ordered the transfer of the investigation to the CBI, citing concerns about the conduct of the state-led probe.
What happens to the Tapan Kandu trial now?
With two of five accused now deceased, the CBI's case proceeds against the remaining three. Naren Kandu and Deepak Kandu are on bail; the trial's status for Mohammad Ashiq was not specified in available reports. The deaths before verdict raise questions about the pace of the proceedings.
