Four murders in Rangpur: What happened in that house

Rangpur Metropolitan Police has said four members of a family were killed in a locked house in Machuapara area of Rangpur city over obstructing Yaba consumption on the rooftop. The bodies of a retired schoolteacher, his wife, daughter and 12-year-old son were recovered from the house, creating a sensation. Police initially thought it was a case of robbery while relatives suspected a planned murder. After several hours of investigation, the police made the announcement around noon on Sunday.

Mugdha Das, 23, and Siddhartha Das, 19, have been arrested in connection with the incident. Police said the two are maternal cousins and both residents of Machuapara area. Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud detailed the preliminary investigation at a press conference around noon on Sunday.

The family lived in the own house of Ganapati Chakrabarti in Kamalkachna Machuapara area of Rangpur city. Ganapati Chakrabarti, 65, was a retired accounting teacher of Rangpur Zilla School. After retiring from teaching in December last year, he ran a homeopathic treatment chamber in the city.

His wife Pritilata Chakrabarti, 50, daughter Agami Chakrabarti and son Priyam Chakrabarti lived with him in the house. Daughter Agami had completed her master’s from the English department of Carmichael College. Twelve-year-old Priyam was a class five student of Rangpur Zilla School.

Suspicion arose after the family’s contact with relatives was cut off. No one could be reached despite several phone calls. The house was also locked from outside. Relatives later went there, saw the household items in disarray through the window and informed police.

Police went to the house around 11pm on Saturday night, broke the lock and entered. The four bodies were recovered one after another. A foul smell of decay was coming from inside the house. Police initially believed they might have been killed a few days earlier.

The description of the scene was more horrific. The body of Ganapati Chakrabarti was found on the rooftop of the house. The bodies of his wife Pritilata and daughter Agami Chakrabarti were lying on the staircase leading to the roof. The body of 12-year-old son Priyam was found under a bed in a room.

Police said there were marks of rope or cloth tied around the necks of all four and it was initially believed they were killed by strangulation. Various household items were scattered inside the rooms. Almirahs and drawers were found open. For this reason, investigators initially thought it might be a case of robbery.

Clothes, toys and other items were scattered inside the rooms. Later investigation showed that some important items including television, laptop and mobile phones had not been taken away. This raised questions about the robbery theory.

After the bodies were recovered, Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Branch of Rangpur Metropolitan Police Sanatan Chakrabarti had said that the ransacked condition of the rooms was being considered as a possible robbery at the initial stage.

On the other hand, relatives of the deceased had suspected from the beginning that it was a planned murder. Elder brother of Ganapati Chakrabarti, Gopinath Chakrabarti, said there had been a dispute over demand for toll during construction of the house. He thought the murder might have occurred as a fallout of that dispute. At that stage of investigation, neither police nor relatives could confirm the cause of the murders with certainty.

Even until Sunday morning, various reports published mentioned multiple possibilities including robbery, involvement of local youths and planned murder. Police had not officially confirmed the cause of the murders till then.

The picture of the investigation changed after the press conference of Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud around noon on Sunday.

According to police, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das had entered the rooftop of Ganapati Chakrabarti’s house by climbing over an adjacent building. They were consuming Yaba there. Hearing noise on the rooftop at night, Ganapati Chakrabarti went there, found the two known youths consuming Yaba and obstructed them.

Police said Ganapati Chakrabarti was first killed by wrapping a gamchha around his neck. Later his wife, daughter and son were also killed one after another. Police claimed the two youths killed all members of the family out of fear that their identities would be exposed.

According to information given by police, the two youths stayed inside the house for some time even after the murders. Investigation revealed they took bath in the bathroom of the house and later ate dates and cucumber while consuming the remaining Yaba.

Police said an attempt was then made to present the murders as a case of robbery. For this, household items were scattered and almirahs and drawers were opened.

Police further said two mobile phones of the deceased were kept soaked in water mixed with detergent to destroy evidence.

After the murders, law enforcement agencies launched a drive in Machuapara area. Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das were detained early in the morning on Sunday. Police later confirmed their arrest.

Mugdha Das, 23, works at a fish shop in City Bazar of the city. Siddhartha Das, 19, works as a craftsman at a gold shop, according to UNB. The two are maternal cousins.

Questions have been raised in this murder incident as to why the wife, adult daughter and only 12-year-old son were also killed after murdering a retired teacher.

The current explanation of police is that the accused did not want to leave any member of the family alive out of fear that their identities would be exposed. That is, after the first murder, they also killed the other family members who might have witnessed or come to know about the incident, according to police belief.

After recovery of the bodies, heart-rending scenes were created in the area with the wailing of relatives. Relative of Ganapati Chakrabarti, Puja Chakrabarti, asked, “Who killed my sister, brother-in-law and two beloved children?”

Relatives said contact with the family members was cut off after Saturday evening. Unable to reach anyone on phone, they later went to the house and saw the horrific scene.

After the incident, anger also spread among teachers and students of Rangpur Zilla School. They held a human chain and demonstration in front of the school around 12:30pm on Sunday.

Teachers and students demanded quick arrest of the killers of Ganapati Chakrabarti and his family and exemplary punishment. They demanded identification and arrest of those involved in the murders within 48 hours.

Students said Ganapati Chakrabarti was a former renowned teacher of their school. At the same time, they were deeply shocked at the brutal murder of three more members of his family.

Intense reactions also started on social media after the incident came to light. Many raised questions about the security and law and order situation particularly over the simultaneous murder of a retired teacher, his wife and two children.

A large part of the discussion on social media was about the initial suspicion of robbery and later the issue of obstructing Yaba consumption coming to the forefront, raising questions about different stages of the investigation. Many demanded disclosure of the actual incident through quick and impartial investigation and exemplary punishment of the killers.

One Raju Nurul wrote, “In the teacher family murder in Rangpur, police has very quickly arrested two youths named Siddhartha and Mugdha. They are saying these two are drug addicts and the entire family was killed for obstructing drug consumption on the rooftop. Thanks to police for going into quick action. But locals are saying different things. They are saying these two are not just drug addicts. Rather the cause of the incident may be completely different. Observations and analyses of some journalists present there since morning are different. I am not dismissing the claim of police. But I request you all, at least do not do politics over such a horrific incident. Do not endanger the lives of more people to cover up one incident.”

One Rajib Hasan wrote, “Ganapati Chakrabarti was a former teacher of my school. He was not directly my teacher. But he was certainly my teacher. I have heard from those who got him at school that Sir was strict about rules and regulations. He had decided to build a house on his own piece of land. There was pressure on him for toll for the last one and a half years. But Ganapati Chakrabarti did not care about the threats of these toll collectors. Being an angry teacher who taught students about principles, how could he himself bow down? I do not know whether the price of the toll had to be paid with four lives. ”