The post-mortem examinations have confirmed that retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and three other members of his family were strangled to death, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud said Thursday.
He disclosed the findings at a press conference at the Rangpur Metropolitan Police headquarters.
According to the commissioner, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das strangled the family members after they prevented them from using drugs.
Vaginal swabs were collected from the female victims, but no evidence of rape was found, he added.
He said semen and feces may be discharged from the body as part of the natural post-mortem process. The clarification came after a mortuary worker claimed that semen had been found on one of the bodies.
The commissioner also said Mugdha Das took shelter at the Dakhiganj cremation ground after the killings. Bidyut Das, the cremation ground’s caretaker, made the statement in a confession recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to Bidyut Das’s statement, Mugdha Das went to the cremation ground and asked him for water. At that time, Mugdha reportedly told him that he and Siddhartha had killed four people, including a teacher.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating whether resentment over the division of money from the sale of land was behind the killings.
The police commissioner said Siddhartha Das’s ancestors had sold land to Ganapati Chakraborty, who later built his house there. He said some members of Siddhartha’s family may have resented the sale, particularly over the relatively high price and the alleged unequal distribution of the proceeds.
Mohammad Abdul Mabud said police were investigating whether there had been any conflict or resentment among the family members over the distribution of the proceeds from the land sale.
He added that the investigation was ongoing to determine the actual motive behind the killings.
