Police detail Rangpur family murder sequence

Questions have arisen over key details in the investigation into the quadruple murder of a retired schoolteacher and his family in Rangpur, particularly claims about the bodies of the two female victims.
Police on Tuesday provided fresh details about the cutting of the electricity connection at the house and the killing of 12-year-old Ayush Chakrabarty Priyam, the youngest member of the family.

Sanatan Chakrabarty, deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) of Rangpur Metropolitan Police (RMP), said suspect Siddhartha Das and his wife Mugdha Das came downstairs after killing Ganpati Chakrabarty on the rooftop and his wife and daughter on the stairs.

Ayush woke up at dawn and sat on his bed. Siddhartha killed him after the boy recognised him, the police official said.

Siddhartha then went downstairs, suspecting that CCTV cameras had been installed in the house, and cut the wires connected to the electricity meter, causing a short circuit.

Police said Siddhartha disclosed the details after his arrest and told investigators that Mugdha was upstairs when he cut the power connection.

“Many people are trying to spread confusion about the incident,” Sanatan said, adding that the two suspects had later given confessional statements before a court.

“Police are investigating the case properly. We hope to submit the charge sheet soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, a dom who handled the bodies reportedly told the media that he had seen what he believed to be semen in the genital areas of the two female victims.

However, Dr Babul Kishor Kumar, assistant professor of forensic medicine at Rangpur Medical College and the autopsy doctor, told the Daily Sun that microbiology tests found no evidence of rape.

He said the bodies had undergone changes due to heat and decomposition, causing fat to seep from different parts. Material collected from the women’s genital areas was tested and found to contain no sperm.

“That is not correct,” Dr Babul said of the claim that the material was semen.

Ganpati, his wife Pritilata Chakrabarty, daughter Agami Chakrabarty and son Ayush, a fifth-grade student of Rangpur Zilla School, were killed inside their locked home in Machhuapara early Friday.

Police recovered the bodies early Saturday night. Siddhartha and Mugdha were arrested and later gave confessional statements under Section 164 before a court.