The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended Shibu Kumar Singh, a proclaimed offender in the 2007 Sukanta Ghosh murder case, from his hideout at Raiganj Road in Gorakhpur’s South Gandhi Ashram. Singh had been living under the alias Akhilesh Kumar Shahi. The case originated from an order by the Calcutta High Court on August 27, 2009.
After investigations, the CBI filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet on December 31, 2010, and November 14, 2011, respectively, against Shibu Kumar Singh and three others. Singh, who had been on the run for several years, was declared a proclaimed offender on September 15, 2016. The CBI utilized human intelligence and technical inputs to locate and arrest him.
Following the arrest, Singh will be taken to Kolkata for a court appearance on Wednesday after obtaining a transit warrant. The victim of the case, Barrackpore-based gold merchant Sukanta Ghosh, was brutally murdered on July 6, 2007, with his body discovered in Jawahar Kunja of Latbagan with 18 stab wounds. Investigations revealed suspicions of involvement by goons associated with a Left legislator and his siblings, allegedly linked to local mafia activities.
The murder was believed to be a result of Ghosh’s refusal to pay protection or extortion money to the mafia connected to the legislator. The High Court intervened during the investigation, directing the CBI to form a special investigation team (SIT) to re-examine the case initially handled by the state police. Justice Samapti Chatterjee mandated the SIT to be led by a CBI Joint Director to ensure a court-monitored probe.
