Police recovered the bodies of four members of the same family, including retired schoolteacher Ganapati Chakraborty, from their home in the Machuapara area of Rangpur metropolis on Saturday night. Investigators initially suspect robbery after finding the house without electricity and signs of ransacking, while relatives claim the killings were planned and linked to an extortion dispute over the construction of the house.
The dead were identified as Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, also known as Jewel; his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, 50; daughter Parthi Chakraborty, 25; and son Priyam Chakraborty, 12. Their bodies were recovered from the roof, attic and rooms of the house.
Ganapati Chakraborty retired from Rangpur Zilla School in December. After retirement, he was providing homeopathic treatment, according to relatives.
Relatives said they went to the house after being unable to contact any of the four family members for two days. They found the main gate locked and the entire house in darkness before entering and discovering the bodies.
Sumit Chowdhury, acting superintendent of police of the Rangpur CID, told journalists, “The house had no electricity connection. From the surroundings and the condition inside, my initial impression is that this may have been a robbery. Furniture and places where money or jewellery are usually kept were damaged. However, nothing definite can be said without an investigation.”
Gopinath Chakraborty, the elder brother of the deceased Ganapati Chakraborty, disputed the robbery theory and alleged that the killings may have stemmed from an earlier dispute over extortion money during the construction of the house.
Gopinath Chakraborty said, “There was a dispute over extortion money when the house was being built. They had been living in the house after that. The electricity line was disconnected to make the incident look like something else. This was a planned killing. We want proper justice for this murder.”
Gopinath Chakraborty said they learned through Ganapati’s brother-in-law that no one in the family could be reached. All four mobile phones used by the family were found switched off. The main gate was locked and the house was dark. A local যুবক was sent to check the house, but relatives reached there first and found the bodies.
On the ground, police were seen surrounding the two-storey house in Machuapara. Construction work was ongoing on the ground floor, while the family had been living upstairs after completing work there.
The deaths cast a pall over the neighbourhood, with relatives, neighbours and local residents gathering in front of the house.
Sonali Das, a housewife from a neighbouring home, said, “They were a very good family. They mixed with everyone and spoke to everyone. I do not know who killed them so brutally. Whether there was enmity within the family or with outsiders will be known through the investigation.”
Nazmul Kader, officer-in-charge of Rangpur Metropolitan Kotwali Police Station, said the bodies had been sent for autopsy. He said two people had been detained for questioning in connection with the incident and that further details would be provided at a press briefing at 12pm.
Meanwhile, Rangpur Zilla School and various other educational institutions in the city have called for a human chain protest, demanding the identification and arrest of those involved and exemplary punishment.