CBI arrests proclaimed offender Shyamal Barman in West Bengal post poll violence Manik Maitra murder case

SILIGURI, June 18, 2026 :- The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested an accused proclaimed offender, Shyamal Barman, from Siliguri, West Bengal, in connection with a post-poll violence case involving the murder of Manik Maitra. The accused had been evading law enforcement since the registration of the initial First Information Report and failed to participate in the ongoing investigation or trial.

Prior to his arrest, the central agency had announced a cash reward of fifty thousand rupees for any information leading to his apprehension.The investigation was initiated by the central agency following an order passed by the Calcutta High Court on August 27, 2021. In compliance with the judicial directive, the agency took over the case the same day by re-registering an earlier FIR from May 5, 2021, which was originally filed at the Sitalkuchi police station in Cooch Behar regarding the fatal attack on Manik Maitra during the post-poll clashes.

Following the initial probe, a chargesheet was submitted by investigators on September 27, 2021, naming six accused individuals. As the investigation expanded, supplementary chargesheets were subsequently filed on April 26, 2022, and August 11, 2022, which brought eighteen additional accused individuals into the scope of the legal proceedings.

Because Shyamal Barman remained in hiding and consistently avoided the trial process, the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar district, officially declared him a proclaimed offender through a formal order issued on February 8, 2022.

Following his recent arrest, the accused was produced before the competent court in Siliguri and has been remanded to judicial custody while further investigation continues.