Police have arrested two youngesters in connection with the brutal murders of four members of a Hindu family in the Rangpur city of Bangladesh.
A retired Hindu school teacher, his wife and the couple’s two children were found dead inside their locked house in the Daspara (Machhuapara) area of Rangpur city under suspicious circumstances. The deceased were identified by police officials as retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, 65; his wife, Pritilata Chakraborty, 50; their daughter, Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23; and their son, Priyam Chakraborty, 12.
The accused persons have been identified as Siddhartha Das, 23, and Mugdha Das, 19. Both of them were detained from the Dakhiganj cremation ground in the city, IANS reported.
As per local media reports, the two men planned and carried out the murders after the Ganapati prevented them from using yaba, a potent illicit methamphetamine-based drug, on the rooftop. They reportedly ransacked the property to make the killings appear to be linked to a robbery.
The incident took place on August 20, while police officials recovered the bodies of all four family members two days later, on Saturday night.
It is being said that the accused used the bathroom, ate dates from the table and consumed yaba after killing the four family members. Also, they allegedly soaked the mobile phones of Ganapati and his wife Pritilata in washing-powder solution to wipe away fingerprints, local police said.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud stated that the two suspects were allegedly consuming yaba on the rooftop of Ganapati’s house on Thursday night when the retired teacher went upstairs after hearing some noise.
After spotting the youngsters consuming drugs, Ganapati asked them to stop and leave, following which they allegedly strangled him with a gamchha, a cotton scarf commonly used in the country.
After hearing Ganapati’s screams, his wife and daughter rushed to the rooftop and were also allegedly strangled. Later on, the suspects entered their house and killed Priyam, the couple’s only son, in the same manner, the senior police official said.
As per reports, the duo stayed inside the house until Friday morning.
Following the brutal incident, hundreds of Rangpur Zilla School students had on Sunday abstained from classes and staged a major protest against the administration seeking the immediate arrest and capital punishment of those responsible for the killings.
As part of their protest, the students even marched towards the offices of the Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the district administration to submit separate memorandums demanding justice. They later staged a human chain and demonstration on the main road in front of the school, according to Dhaka Tribune.