Rangpur quadruple murder: Arrested Siddhartha's father, brother taken to DB custody

The father and brother of Siddhartha Das, arrested in connection with the murder of retired teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife and two children in Rangpur's Machuapara area, have been taken to DB custody for interrogation. They were brought to the Detective Branch office on Saturday afternoon (August 29) and interrogation began.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sanaton Chakraborty confirmed the matter and said Binoy Das (father) and Partha Das (brother) had been called for interrogation for several days. They were eventually brought to DB custody on Saturday afternoon. However, no decision has been made yet on whether they will be arrested, he said.

It has been learned that after several journalists were confined in the area on August 29, DB police arrived and rescued them, subsequently taking Partha Das and Binoy Das into custody.

Selim Sarkar, Rangpur correspondent of the daily Khaborer Kagoj, told Views Bangladesh: "When we were leaving after collecting information, Siddhartha's brother Partha detained us and snatched the motorcycle key. He kept us confined for about an hour, made various allegations against us, and tried to incite a mob with his father. Finally, DB arrived and took them into custody."

Earlier, on the night of August 22, police recovered the bodies of Ganapati Chakraborty (60), his wife Pritilata (50), daughter Agami (25) and son Priyam (12) from a house in Machuapara. Agami was a postgraduate student, while her younger brother Priyam was a fifth-grade student.

Gopinath Chakraborty, the elder brother of Ganapati, filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station, naming unidentified individuals as accused. Police had been investigating the case since the incident.

Two youths—Mugdha Das (23) and Siddhartha Das (19)—were arrested from the same area on the morning of the murders. Police said they later gave confessional statements before a court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In continuation of the investigation, the two family members are now being interrogated. The investigating agency is examining whether any information related to the killings can be obtained from them, and a decision will be taken after the interrogation is completed.