The CBI on Wednesday arrested Satyaban Pramanik, a Group-D employee of a high school in Purulia’s Jhalda, after marathon interrogations since Tuesday in connection with the March 13 murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu.

This was the first arrest made by the CBI since it started the probe a week ago. Pramanik was produced in the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Purulia on Wednesday and remanded in CBI custody for four days.

CBI sources said Pramanik was a friend and business partner of Naren Kandu, who had been arrested by police in connection with Tapan’s murder. Naren and Pramanik both own Baba Hotel in Jhalda, where the murder was allegedly planned, a CBI official said.

The CBI sources said Tapan’s murder was planned at the hotel where Pramanik, Naren and Mohammad Ashik Khan, another accused, were also present.

During interrogations, the CBI came to know that Naren had wanted to kill his cousin Tapan and for that, he was looking for a contract killer. “Khan told Naren that he would get contract killer of Bokaro Kalebar Singh for murdering the councillor. The deal was finalised at Rs 7 lakh,” said a CBI source.

The money was given to Khan in the presence of Pramanik at the hotel. “Out of that Rs 7 lakh, Pramanik and Khan paid Rs 5.5 lakh to Singh, while they kept with themselves the rest of the money without informing Naren,” said a CBI source.

However, Satyaban’s son Saurav claimed that his father was innocent and alleged that he was fabricated in the murder. “My father was innocent and has no connection with any petty crime let alone of a murder. He has been wrongfully tagged in the case,” he said at Purulia court compound.

Sources said that the special investigating team (SIT) of Purulia police that was investigating the murder before the CBI took over following a high court order had also interrogated Satyaban. But did not arrest him as he was not physically fit at that time.

The CBI also recovered around Rs 52,000 from the house of Ashik’s daughter in Jhalda during a raid. Both Ashik and his daughter could not yet explain the source of the money. “We are probing whether the money was part of the amount that Naren had given to them,” said a CBI source.

On March 13 Kalebar and two others came in a motorbike and gunned down Tapan Kandu. “Kalebar opened the fire and he was wearing a helmet,” said a CBI source.

The CBI also received CCTV footage that spotted Kalebar in Jhalda town on March 13 morning riding the pillion on a motorbike.

“The person who was driving the motorbike was wearing a helmet and Kalebar was riding pillion without a helmet. However, during the murder there were two other persons with Kalebar on the motorbike. We are probing that it was the same bike that was used during the murder,” said a CBI source.

The arrest comes on a day the hearing of the state government’s appeal challenging the legality of the order passed by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of Calcutta High Court on April 4 handing over the probe in the Tapan Kandu murder case to the CBI. The appeal came up for hearing before the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj.

Taking part in the hearing of the appeal, state advocate general S.N. Mukherjee claimed that the state government-appointed SIT had been investigating the case properly but the probe was handed over to the CBI. Moreover, the single bench had issued the order without properly scanning the progress report and case diary.

He claimed that the division bench should issue a stay on Justice Mantha's order and allow the SIT to continue its probe. Appearing for Tapan's widow Purnima Kandu, advocate Kaustav Bagchi opposed the AG's prayer .

Later, Bagchi pointed out before the court that the state government had made a technical mistake by challenging an order of the single bench judge that was modified later.

"The single bench judge had issued the order of April 4 but modified it on April 6. The state had challenged the order dated April 4. The Chief Justice gave time to the AG to rectify its technical defect by Monday and decided to continue the hearing of appeal thereafter," Bagchi said.