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Two men arrested over the killing of four members of a retired schoolteacher’s family in Rangpur have given confessional statements before a court.
The accused, Mugdha Das, 23, and Siddhartha Das, 19, were produced before the Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court at around 5pm on Sunday.
They gave confessional statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before Magistrate Md Rafiqul Islam.
After recording their statements, the court ordered that they be sent to jail.
Rangpur Kotwali Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Milan Chatterjee said both accused confessed to their involvement in the killings, so they were no longer required to be taken on remand.
Police had recovered the bodies of retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, their fifth-grade son Priyam Chakraborty and their daughter Agami Chakraborty, a postgraduate student, from their home in Kamal Kachna Machuapara on Saturday night.
Police later said they had detained Mugdha Das, a resident of the area, and his maternal cousin’s son Siddhartha Das early Sunday.
Siddhartha works at a jewellery shop called PK Jewellers in Rangpur city, while Mugdha works at a fish shop in City Bazar.
How the Killings Happened
At a press conference on Sunday, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud detailed the circumstances surrounding the killings.
According to the commissioner, Mugdha and Siddhartha climbed onto the roof of Ganapati Chakraborty’s house through an adjacent building on Thursday night. They were allegedly taking yaba there when Ganapati went to the roof after hearing noises and asked why they were there.
The suspects allegedly confessed that they strangled Ganapati with the gamcha around his neck.
When his wife Pritilata came upstairs after hearing his screams, she was also allegedly strangled with a gamcha. Their daughter Agami was killed with a gamcha and rope after she came out upon hearing her mother’s screams.
Inspector Milan Chatterjee said the accused told investigators that they struggled for several minutes while killing Agami. They later allegedly killed their 12-year-old son Ayush Chakraborty while he was asleep by wrapping cloth around him and suffocating him with a pillow.
Relatives Discovered the Bodies
On Saturday night, Ganapati’s sister-in-law Puja Chakraborty and her husband went to the house after receiving no response to phone calls.
The entire house was dark, and repeated calls produced no response. Puja later climbed onto the roof through a neighbouring house, broke a window lock and looked inside. She saw household items scattered around and noticed a foul smell.
Police were subsequently informed and recovered the bodies of the four family members.
Ganapati Chakraborty was 65, his wife Pritilata was 50, their daughter Agami was 23 and their son Ayush Priyam was 12.
After autopsies on Sunday, the bodies were handed over to relatives and cremated at Dakhiganj crematorium that night.
Ganapati’s elder brother Gopinath Chakraborty filed a case with Kotwali Police Station on Sunday. No names were mentioned in the case, which was filed against unidentified persons.
Police arrested Mugdha and Siddhartha the same day on suspicion of involvement and later said they obtained important information during questioning.
Police Suspect Attempt to Stage Robbery
Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud said the suspects allegedly took showers in the house after the killings, ate dates and cucumbers from the dining table and used yaba again.
Police said the suspects submerged two smartphones in water mixed with detergent to remove traces of their identities and presence. They also allegedly used fire while examining the gold ornaments in the house.
According to police, the suspects took the jewellery and scattered household belongings to make the killings appear to have been part of a robbery. They allegedly hid the jewellery in an abandoned house behind a temple. Police later recovered the ornaments based on information provided by the accused.
The police commissioner said the victims’ two mobile phones were soaked in detergent-mixed water to prevent fingerprints from being recovered.
Conflicting Views Over Burn Marks
Relatives said the faces of all four victims appeared burned after the killings and that liquid substances were found near their faces. This initially raised suspicion that chemicals or flammable substances might have been used.
Rangpur CID Superintendent of Police (acting) Sumit Chowdhury said a liquid substance had been found near the faces and that forensic examination would determine whether it was a chemical.
However, Dr Bablu Kishore Biswas, a forensic medicine specialist at Rangpur Medical College who conducted the autopsies, said the appearance could have been caused by decomposition. He said there were no signs that the faces had been burned with acid.
Tk15 Million Provident Fund Withdrawal
Ganapati Chakraborty had withdrawn Tk15 lakh from his provident fund about a month before the killings, according to Rangpur Zilla School headteacher Abul Kalam Azad.
He said Ganapati had withdrawn the money to resume unfinished construction work at his house. However, he was unsure whether the money had been kept in a bank or at the house.
Ganapati’s elder brother and case complainant Gopinath Chakraborty also said he had no confirmed information about the whereabouts of the money.