A retired teacher, his wife, their daughter and their 12-year-old son were killed inside their Rangpur home, with police claiming the murders followed a confrontation over yaba consumption on the rooftop.
But relatives have questioned the police version, raising doubts over how two young men could allegedly carry out such a brutal attack on an entire family.
The victims were identified as retired Rangpur Zila School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, daughter Agami Prarthi Chakraborty and son Priyam Chakraborty, residents of Mashua Para (Das Para) in Ward No 24 of Rangpur city.
Police have arrested two neighbours — Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das — and claimed they were directly involved in the killings. They also said stolen gold ornaments were recovered from their possession.
Ganapati’s elder brother Gopinath Chakraborty filed a case with Rangpur Kotwali Police Station on Sunday afternoon without naming any accused.
Ganapati’s sister-in-law Puja Chakraborty told TIMES of Bangladesh that she last spoke with her sister and brother-in-law after 1am on Thursday night. She found all family members’ mobile phones switched off on Friday and Saturday.
She went to their house in Mashua Para at around 9:30pm on Saturday. Finding the main gate locked, she entered through a neighbouring house.
Some work was underway on the ground floor, while Ganapati and his family lived on the upper floor.
Puja said she climbed over a wall and went upstairs. After repeatedly knocking on a window, it opened. Despite calling out several times, nobody responded.
She then called the national emergency number 999, following which police broke open the ground-floor door and found the bodies.
According to witnesses and police, bodies of Pritilata and Agami were found on the rooftop. Ganapati’s body was found in the attic, while Priyam’s partially decomposed body was found near a wall in the corner of the bedroom.
The house had been ransacked, with cupboards and drawers opened and belongings scattered around.
Police and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials collected evidence from the scene. They said they found items linked to yaba consumption and signs that cucumber and dates had been eaten at the dining table.
Police took control of the area around 10:30pm. The bodies were recovered and sent to the morgue around 2:45am.
Rangpur-3 MP Mahbubar Rahman Belal and Rangpur metropolitan BNP convenor Shamsuzzaman Shamu visited the scene on Sunday morning.
Police account
At a press briefing around 12:30pm on Sunday, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abdul Mabud broke down in tears while describing the killings.
He said Mugdha and Siddhartha bought yaba from a drug dealer on Thursday night and consumed it at the house of a person named Shiman.
Later, they allegedly went from the rooftop of a nearby under-construction building owned by Debu to Ganapati’s rooftop and consumed yaba again.
The police commissioner said Ganapati came out of the attic after hearing movement on the rooftop. Police said he found Siddhartha and Mugdha there and that an argument followed.
They allegedly tried to strangle Ganapati with his towel. When he screamed, Pritilata rushed to the scene. By then, Ganapati was already killed. Afterwards, Pritilata was also killed, police said.
Hearing her mother’s screams, Agami came out and was allegedly strangled near the staircase. Police said a clothes-drying rope was also used.
The commissioner said the suspects then went to the bedroom to check whether Priyam had witnessed the killings. He was allegedly killed by pressing a pillow over his face and wrapping cloth around him.
Police claimed Siddhartha and Mugdha later consumed yaba again in Priyam’s room, took showers and ate dates and cucumbers at the dining table.
They allegedly disconnected the electricity line and waited before leaving the house during Friday prayers.
Police arrested Mugdha from a room used by a funeral worker in Tutpara area and Siddhartha from a neighbouring house.
According to police, the two are maternal and paternal cousins. Siddhartha works at PK Jewellery, while Mugdha works at a fish shop in City Market.
Police said the two described the incident during questioning after their arrest.
Investigators claimed they submerged two smartphones in detergent-mixed water to erase fingerprints.
Police also said the suspects burned the gold ornaments inside the house to test them before taking away the jewellery.
They allegedly scattered household items to make the killings appear to be a robbery and later hid the ornaments in an abandoned house behind a temple.
Relatives question account
Despite police claims, family members and relatives said several questions remained unanswered.
They questioned why the alleged yaba users would climb over Ganapati’s rooftop when the neighbouring house owned by Debu — where construction work was also underway — was available.
They also questioned why the attackers entered a house where the entire family was present and why neighbours or tenants did not hear any commotion.
Pritilata’s brother Jibon Chakraborty told TIMES, “We want to know how two young men could kill four people. If they are not professional killers, how was this possible?”
“They reportedly stayed inside the house, took showers and even ate dates. We demand an investigation into whether anyone else was involved,” he said.
Pritilata’s uncle-in-law Ajit Chakraborty said, “I believe others are involved in this.”
Ganapati’s brother Gopinath Chakraborty said, “I want a fair investigation and justice. If anyone else is involved, they should also be brought under the law.”
Rajib Jibon Kundu, president of the Rangpur district committee of Puja Celebration Council, told TIMES, “How can we accept that an entire family was killed like this? We want to live safely.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abdul Mabud said, “We will try to complete the investigation quickly and submit the charge sheet.”
Students of Rangpur Zila School and Carmichael College staged protests on Sunday demanding justice for Agami, Priyam and their family members, who were killed.
Agami recently completed her master’s degree from the English Department of Carmichael College, while Priyam was a Class V student at Rangpur Zila School.
