Dhaka:
New details have emerged in the murder case of a Hindu family of four who were killed inside their locked home in Bangladesh’s Rangpur city. According to police, the retired schoolteacher and three members of his family were murdered after confronting two neighbours, also Hindu, who had allegedly gone to their rooftop to consume yaba– a methamphetamine-based drug.
The bodies of Ganapati Chakraborty (65), his wife Pritilata Chakraborty (50), their daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi (23), and their son Priyam Chakraborty (12) were recovered from their home on Saturday. Their faces had been burned using an inflammable substance, police said.
Suspect Arrested
Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud told Bangladeshi media that two suspects — maternal cousins Siddhartha Das (19) and Mugdha Das (23) — had been arrested in connection with the killings.
Police said the incident took place late on Thursday night when Mugdho and Siddhartha allegedly climbed onto the roof of the Chakraborty family’s two-storey house in the Machuapara area of Rangpur to consume yaba. Hearing noises from upstairs, Ganapati Chakraborty went there to check. The suspects allegedly used a towel that Chakraborty was carrying to strangle him, according to a report by the Daily Star.
Hearing the commotion, Chakraborty’s wife followed him to the rooftop but was also attacked and killed on the staircase.
The suspects also attacked the couple’s daughter when she came out of the room to check what was happening. According to police, the two men struggled with her for several minutes before eventually strangling her with a rope. They afterwards killed the couple’s 12-year-old son because the suspects feared he could identify them.
Killers Spent Night At Victims’ Home
Police Commissioner Mabud, according to Prothom Alo, said that police believe the two suspects remained inside the house overnight after the killings. They left a day later when the streets were relatively empty during Jummah (Friday) prayers.
They reportedly bathed there, took food– dates and cucumbers–from the family’s refrigerator, and ate it. Then they consumed drugs, which were found on a table inside the house.
Before leaving, they opened cupboards and drawers and scattered clothes and other belongings everywhere to mislead investigators. They also looted gold jewellery from the victims’ home and destroyed the family’s two mobile phones by submerging them in water mixed with detergent.
According to the Prothom Alo report, police also found evidence suggesting the duo had attempted to test a gold bangle using fire. Siddharth runs a fish business, while Mugdha worked as a goldsmith.
Based on the evidence, police have arrested Siddharth and Mugdha, who have confessed to the killings. Gold jewellery looted from the victims’ home has been recovered, police said.
Their DNA is being tested using the date pits that have been seized from inside the house, as further details of the case are being investigated.
