In the loot and murder of Baranagar jewellery shop owner Sankar Jana in Bengal, police have so far arrested five persons, including two from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. On Saturday, in broad daylight, 60-year-old Jana was found dead with his legs tied inside his jewellery shop Saraswati Chain and Ornaments, located at Shambhunath Das Lane in Baranagar of North 24 Parganas district. Kolkata police officials said the latest arrests were made in Jamshedpur. The accused from Jamshedpur are alleged to have beaten Jana to death with iron rods inside his own shop.They will be brought to Kolkata on transit remand and produced before the Barrackpore court, where police will seek their custody. Investigations have allegedly revealed that the plan to loot and kill the victim was hatched inside Presidency Jail by Sanjoy Maity, a history-sheeter from North Kolkata arrested a month ago in an arms case, and Rakesh Das, another inmate. Das had earlier allegedly killed businessman Deepak Das on Amherst Street in North Kolkata in 2022. Kolkata Police had arrested him and his accomplice from Bihar. Police sources said that since Rakesh had strong connections in the criminal networks of Bihar and Jharkhand, he “arranged three robbers” from there. They allegedly travelled to Kolkata and made contact with Maity, who had recently been granted bail. After his release, Maity allegedly conducted a recce of the jewellery shop to set the plan in motion. On Monday, police made the first arrests in the case — Sanjoy Maity and Surajit Sikdar. Sikdar, a resident of Gouri Shankar Ghoshal Lane in Narkeldanga, was picked up following leads from Maity’s interrogation, officials said. The questioning of both men led police to Panchu Samanta, allegedly the purchaser of the looted gold. On Tuesday, police produced Samanta before the Barrackpore court, seeking 10-day custody. The court granted three days of police custody. Search operations are still underway in Bihar and Jharkhand to nab another accused who remains absconding. A senior police officer said, “Even before the loot, Maity had already arranged for the gold to be sold to Samanta. But Maity did not take the entire amount in cash. Right after the loot, the gold was given to Samanta.” According to police sources, around 15 kilograms of gold is yet to be recovered. Speaking to The Indian Express, Barrackpore Police Commissioner Murlidhar Sharma said, “Five persons have been arrested in the case. Investigations are still on.” Residents had alleged that there was no police patrolling, and they felt unsafe, after the incident on Saturday.
