Former Block Development Officer Prashant Barman, who had been absconding for months in connection with the abduction and murder of gold merchant Swapan Kamilya in Kolkata, was granted bail by a district court on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, after investigating officers failed to produce the necessary case documents within the stipulated time. The development marks a significant procedural setback for the prosecution in a case that has drawn sustained public attention in West Bengal.

How Barman Was Arrested

Barman's arrest, which took place in the early hours of Monday at New Town on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, was both coincidental and dramatic. According to the Bidhannagar City Police, under whose jurisdiction New Town falls, Barman was driving his car in a heavily intoxicated state when he struck a two-wheeler rider.

Rather than stopping to assist, Barman allegedly began abusing the rider and bystanders who gathered at the scene. One witness reportedly recorded the entire incident and circulated the footage on social media, though the authenticity of the video could not be independently verified. Personnel from the local Ecopark Police Station arrived, detained Barman, and subsequently placed him under formal arrest.

What Happened in Court

Barman was produced before a district court in North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday afternoon facing two separate charges — one relating to drunk driving and the other to the abduction-cum-murder case. The presiding judge waited for several hours, but the investigating officers were unable to furnish the required documents related to the murder case within the prescribed period.

As a result, Barman was granted bail in the drunk-driving matter on a personal bond of ₹1,000. With the murder-case documents absent, no remand in that matter was secured.

Background: The Murder of Swapan Kamilya

Gold merchant Swapan Kamilya's body was recovered on 29 October 2024 from near a canal at Dattabad, Salt Lake. Barman, described as a close associate of certain leaders within the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), was accused of abducting and killing Kamilya. He had subsequently managed to obtain anticipatory bail from a sub-divisional court.

The Bidhannagar City Police challenged the anticipatory bail before the Calcutta High Court, which rejected the order and directed Barman to surrender by 22 December 2025. When he failed to comply, the Bidhannagar Court issued an arrest warrant. Barman then moved the Supreme Court, where a bench of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Vijay Bishnoi ordered him to surrender by 23 January 2026. He defied that directive as well and continued to evade authorities until his accidental arrest this week.

Procedural Failure and What It Means

The inability of investigating officers to place murder-case documents before the court on time raises questions about coordination between the police and prosecution. This is not an isolated concern — critics argue that procedural lapses in high-profile cases involving politically connected accused often allow bail to be secured on technicalities. The case will now return to court, and the prosecution must ensure documentation is in order before the next hearing.

With Barman now out on bail in the drunk-driving matter, authorities face renewed pressure to formally charge him in the murder case before he can abscond again.