The night of the four murders: What happened in the dark?

The Daspara village in Rangpur appears unusually silent even after four members of the same family were murdered. Four people were killed inside a house in the densely populated neighbourhood, yet residents of neighbouring houses say they knew nothing and heard no screams. The victims were Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, their daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, and son Ayush Chakraborty Priyam.

Police said they were killed at around 6am on Friday, August 21. Police allege that Siddhartha and Mugdha, both from the same area, carried out the killings. The bodies were subsequently recovered from Ganapati's house in Kamal Kachna Machuapara (Daspara) at around 11pm on August 22.

On Saturday afternoon, August 29, an attempt was made to speak to local residents in Daspara village. However, no one was willing to speak openly about the incident. Residents living next to the main entrance of Ganapati Chakraborty's house also said they knew nothing about what had happened. It was not only on Saturday. An attempt had also been made to speak to a young man in the village on Friday evening. At that time, his mother intervened and prevented him from speaking. Four people were murdered inside the same house. Yet, despite living in such a densely populated area, none of the neighbours apparently knew anything. That is now one of the key questions surrounding the case.

The route allegedly used in the killings
Police claim that Ganapati Chakraborty and the four members of his family were killed over drug use. According to the police account, a person named Debu has a house under construction next to Ganapati's home. The two houses can be accessed through their rooftops. Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das allegedly used to go there to consume yaba. On Thursday night, they allegedly used that route to reach the roof of Ganapati's house. At one point, when Ganapati went onto the roof, he and the other members of his family were allegedly killed one by one.

However, an on-site examination of the route and the location of the houses raises several questions. To enter Debu's house under construction, one has to use the main gate from outside. During the visit, the gate was found closed. There is an alternative route over the wall in front of Shimanta Das's house. However, that route can essentially be used only from inside Shimanta's house. There is no opportunity to enter the area by climbing over the wall from outside. The question therefore arises: if Siddhartha and Mugdha regularly used the roof of Debu's house to access Ganapati's rooftop, did the neighbouring residents know about it? Attempts to find out revealed that local residents could not say. The tenant of the under-construction house also said that it would not be possible for anyone else to access their rooftop.

During the visit, it was found that the second floor of Debu's under-construction house was fully built. It has two units. Debu used to live with his family in one unit, while another family rents the other. However, Debu has not been living there for around four months. Speaking to a tenant of the house, Heman Sukumar Mondal, he said they were at home on Thursday. Although Ganapati Chakraborty's house is next to theirs, they did not hear any screaming or shouting that night. Asked whether there were regular drug gatherings on the rooftop of his house, he denied it. He said he had never seen such gatherings. If the door downstairs was locked, there was no way for anyone to go upstairs. He further said that Ganapati's house is currently under police guard. Police had also asked them how they were continuing to live there after such an incident. As a result, they too were frightened and were trying to move to another house.

There was a CCTV camera, but no footage
A Kali temple is located next to Ganapati's house. A sign on the temple wall states that the entire area is covered by CCTV cameras. However, no CCTV footage from the day of the killings has been obtained. Dhiman Bhattacharya, chief adviser to the temple committee, said the CCTV camera at the temple had been out of order for four to five days. As a result, they had no footage from the day of the incident. Preparations are now underway to install a new CCTV camera at the temple. Several residents of Daspara also confirmed that the camera was not working. Although an attempt was made to obtain footage from CCTV cameras around the area following the murders in the densely populated neighbourhood, no one provided any. Two house owners said their CCTV cameras were not working.

The area is deserted at noon, but no one saw anything
Asked what the area is usually like on Friday afternoons, local residents said it is predominantly a Hindu neighbourhood, with relatively few Muslim families. The area is generally quiet and sparsely populated around noon. There was nothing particularly unusual about Friday. However, they could not provide any information about whether anyone had left Ganapati's house before or after the killings. Police, meanwhile, say Siddhartha and Mugdha left Ganapati's house on Friday afternoon. Siddhartha's father, Binoy Kumar Das, however, gave a different account. He said Siddhartha was at the house of Shimanta Das, next to Ganapati's home, that night. Siddhartha would occasionally stay there. He returned home from there at around 11am on Friday and later went out again.

Questions over the electricity supply that night
Local residents said the electricity went out once on Thursday evening but returned after a short while. They also said there was electricity in the area around midnight and late at night. However, they did not notice whether Ganapati's house had electricity at the time. They said they generally do not go outside after 10 or 11pm and usually remain indoors by then. On the other hand, it has been learned that there was no electricity at Ganapati's house late that night. Ganapati's brother, Gopinath Chakraborty, alleged that the electricity connection to Ganapati's house was disconnected from the electric pole. He said the killings were carried out taking advantage of the situation. "This was a planned murder. This is not an ordinary incident; there is a larger conspiracy behind it," he alleged.

The police version is different. Police said Siddhartha and Mugdha disconnected the electricity from the house's meter because they feared that CCTV cameras could record them after the killings. However, several local residents alleged that the connection was disconnected from the electric pole, not from the house meter. When the bodies were discovered at Ganapati's house, the electricity connection was found to have been disconnected. Police then called a local electrician, Ujjwal Kumar. Ujjwal Kumar said he climbed the electric pole using a ladder around midnight on Saturday. He found that the electricity connection to Ganapati Chakraborty's house had been disconnected from the pole.

Conflicting information over Mugdha's alleged confession
Police said that before Mugdha was detained, he had confessed to the killings to Biswajit Mohanta, who is responsible for overseeing the Dakshiganj Kali Temple and cremation ground in Rangpur city. However, speaking to Biswajit Mohanta produced a different account. Biswajit said Mugdha ran to the cremation ground at around 3:30am. He asked for water after arriving there. Shortly afterwards, police arrived and took him away. Biswajit further said that Mugdha told him police were chasing him. On the way, he had tried to seek shelter in two houses, but no one allowed him in. Biswajit said, however, that Mugdha did not confess to the killings there.

Where were Siddhartha and Mugdha on the night of the killings?
At a press conference at 10am on Thursday, August 27, then Commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police Mohammad Abdul Mabud said that after midnight on Thursday, Siddhartha took yaba and went with Mugdha to Shimanta's house. The two consumed three yaba tablets there. At around 3am, when they wanted more yaba, they contacted a yaba dealer named Shanto by phone. They then collected another four yaba tablets from outside Shanto's house. They had pledged their mobile phone while taking the yaba. After obtaining the four yaba tablets, they returned to Shimanta's house. They left there after 3am.

Siddhartha's father, Binoy Chandra Das, however, said Siddhartha would occasionally stay at Shimanta's house and that his son was there that night as well. The two were friends. His son returned home at around 11am the following day, had breakfast and then went out again. Mugdha's mother, Sena Rani Das, said her son was at home on Thursday night. However, she did not know whether he had gone out in the early hours of the morning.

Tk1.459 million withdrawn before the killings
It has been learned that on July 29, Ganapati Chakraborty withdrew a cheque worth Tk1.459 million from the Treasury from his provident fund. Police still have no specific information about where or for what purpose he subsequently spent the large sum of money. Asked about the matter, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Detective Division) Sanatan Chakraborty said they had not yet been able to determine whether the money had been spent or was still with him. However, efforts were underway to find out. He further said police could seek remand to question Siddhartha and Mugdha about this money and several other issues. Ganapati's relatives said he had withdrawn the money from the bank for work on the ground floor of his house. They said they knew nothing more.

Allegation that water was used to destroy evidence
On the evening of August 26, all the lights at Ganapati's house were suddenly switched off. At the same time, the water pump was turned on. Water was then seen pouring from the rooftop. The incident led to allegations that police had used water to destroy evidence of the killings. Partha Chandra Das, the elder brother of arrested suspect Siddhartha Chandra Das, alleged that this was not the only incident involving the house. He said several police officers entered Ganapati Chakraborty's house at around 1am on August 25. They later left carrying several bags containing unidentified items. Partha alleged that there could be a major reason behind the killings and that attempts were being made to conceal it.

Sudden decision by the lawyers' association
The Rangpur District Bar Association has announced that its members will not represent the arrested suspects in the case involving the murder of four members of the same family. The organisation also called for the killings not to be used for political purposes. At a press conference at the District Bar Association building at around 10:30am on August 29, the association's general secretary, Advocate Aftab Uddin, announced the decision.

The previous evening, August 28, Supreme Court lawyer Chaitali Chakraborty appeared outside Ganapati Chakraborty's house. Chaitali Chakraborty said at the time that there were marks of sharp-weapon injuries on Ganapati's daughter's neck and that the incident was a planned murder. Accompanied by Partha Das, brother of the arrested Siddhartha Das, Chaitali announced that she would provide free legal assistance to Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das. The very next day, the District Bar Association announced that it would not represent the arrested suspects.

Police account and the position of Ganapati's relatives
Ganapati's brother, Gopinath Chakraborty, said Ganapati had been deliberately killed. He said he did not believe that the entire incident could have been carried out by just the two young men. Puja Chakraborty, Ganapati's wife's elder sister, said, "I cannot understand whether the police are trying to cover up the incident. I do not understand what the police mean by their statements. What the police are saying is not credible." She said, "At 2:40am that night, my sister Pritilata Chakraborty called me on WhatsApp. But I could not answer the call. I did not speak to my sister on Friday. I never got another opportunity to call her."

The bodies were discovered through Agami's prospective husband
Puja Chakraborty, Ganapati's wife's elder sister, said Agami had a close relationship with a young man named Adit Kar. Discussions had been taking place about their marriage, and the family had also accepted the relationship. Adit could not reach Agami by phone from Friday. He was also unable to contact anyone else in the family. Adit went to Daspara but could not find Agami or the other members of the family. She further said that when Adit subsequently informed her about the matter, she went to Ganapati's house and found the situation there. Police were then informed.

Blood odour inside Ganapati's house
Police said all four, including Ganapati, were strangled to death. Supreme Court lawyer Chaitali Chakraborty said Ganapati's daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi had marks of sharp-weapon injuries on her neck and that the incident was a planned murder. The inquest report on Prarthi does not mention any injury caused by a sharp weapon. However, the report says that there appeared to be minor injuries in different parts of her body. Her face was disfigured and burned. Her eyes were cloudy and enlarged, protruding from their sockets. Her mouth was tied with a red rope from one side to the other. A video shows a large amount of blood smeared across the floor of the room where Priyam's body was lying.

The morning after the bodies were recovered, Biswajit Roy, general secretary of the Rangpur Brahmin Sangsad, went to Ganapati Chakraborty's house. Police initially did not allow them to enter the house. When he returned around noon, he said he found a strong smell of blood inside. Biswajit Roy said, "After receiving the news on Saturday night, I rushed to Ganapati Chakraborty's house first thing the following morning. But police did not allow us inside at that time, so I returned. Later, after noon, I went back to the house. The smell of blood inside Ganapati's house was so strong that it was difficult to enter. We cannot understand why these things were being removed so quickly." He alleged that water had been used inside Ganapati's house to destroy bloodstains and other evidence of the killings.

Zinat Ali, in-charge of the Rangpur Metropolitan DB Police, said he did not know whether there had been blood inside Ganapati's house. However, he said the Criminal Investigation Department had collected necessary evidence from the scene, including saliva from the mouths of the deceased.