'Who killed my sister, brother-in-law and their children?

Police have yet to determine why and who killed the retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife and their two children.

No case has been filed at the police station yet, said AKM Nazmul Kader, officer-in-charge (OC) of Rangpur Kotwali police station.

The bodies of Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, daughter Agami Chakraborty and son Ayush Chakraborty were recovered around 3:30 am on Saturday. The bodies had decomposed, causing a bad smell to spread throughout the building.

The incident took place in the Kamal Kachna Machuapara village in Rangpur. The four bodies have been sent to the morgue of Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

The deceased Agami Chakraborty had completed her master's in English from Rangpur Carmichael College. Meanwhile, the son, Ayush Chakraborty, was a fifth-grade student at Rangpur Zilla School.

Sumit Chowdhury, assistant superintendent of Police (CID) in Rangpur, said it is suspected that the killers stayed inside the house for a long time to kill all four. At other times, it seems the miscreants may have come to the house to commit robbery and ended up killing the four. It appears there could be other reasons as well. The investigation team is working on why and for what reason they were killed.

Puja Chakraborty, the younger sister of the deceased Pritilata, stated that she last spoke with Pritilata and Agami at 11:26 pm on Thursday for 9 minutes and 46 seconds. After that, she fell asleep. Around 2:40 am, she received another call from her sister's mobile phone, but she could not pick it up. Afterward, she did not speak with her sister on Friday.

Puja found the mobile phones of her sister, brother-in-law, and niece switched off yesterday, Saturday. Becoming suspicious, she went to their house from her home in the fire service area of the city at around 8:45 pm.

Upon arriving, she found the main gate locked. No one responded either when she rang the doorbell. She then reached a window through the neighbouring house and broke the lock of the thai-glass window, which was secured from inside. When she shone a light inside, she saw that the belongings in one of the rooms were scattered. Her suspicion grew and she informed the police.

Police entered the building through the adjacent property. They found wardrobes and drawers open, with clothes and other belongings scattered across the floor and beds. Ayush's body was first found near a bed in one of the rooms. Later, the bodies of the mother and daughter were found on the staircase and Ganapati's body was found on the roof of the third floor.

"Who killed my sister, my brother-in-law, and their two beloved children? They didn't commit any crime. They have no enemies. What kind of country is this? Where are we even living? There is no security even at our home!" Puja Chakraborty said.

Speaking with police and relatives, it was learned that Ganapati's family lived on the second floor of the three-story building under construction. Work on the first and third floors remains incomplete.

Ayush's body was found beside a bed in a second-floor bedroom, with cloth tied around his neck. The bodies of Pritilata and Agami were found on the stairs leading to the third floor, with ropes tied around their necks. Ganapati Chakraborty's body was found on the roof of the third floor, with a towel tied around his neck.

Sumit Chowdhury, assistant superintendent of Police (CID) in Rangpur, stated that the faces of all four were somewhat scorched. It is suspected that some chemical substance was used on their faces, and they may have been strangled to death.

Police stated that the wardrobes and drawers in three rooms of the building were open. Clothes, toys and other items from the rooms were scattered across the beds and floors. However, none of the wardrobes or drawers were broken.

Police suspect they were opened with keys. Several bunches of keys were also found inside the house. The television, laptop and mobile phones in the house were not taken by the miscreants. Police have not yet been able to confirm whether there was money or jewelry in the wardrobes and drawers.

Visiting the scene, it was seen that the area is quite populous. There is another three-story building under construction adjacent to Ganapati Chakraborty's building. Retired college teacher Himangshu Roy lives there as a tenant with his family on the second floor. One can also access Ganapati's building from the neighboring property.

Himangshu Roy said he knew nothing about the incident and could not understand anything either. Another neighbor, Namita Rani, said that Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife and their two children were very friendly and had never been seen arguing with anyone.

She saw Ayush playing in a field on Thursday afternoon. Before evening, she also saw Ganapati and his wife out for a walk.

Mahbuuba Akhter, a classmate of Agami who came to the scene upon hearing the news of her death, said Agami was an extremely sociable and well-behaved girl. She could not understand why or who brutally killed her, her parents and her younger brother in their own home.

Police suspect that the four murders took place late Thursday night. Rangpur CID Police Inspector Abu Hasan Kabir said the incident is extremely heartbreaking. Four people were murdered and their bodies left inside a house in a populous area, yet no one next door understood anything.

Ganapati Chakraborty's ancestral home is in Mirzapur village of Mithapukur upazila in Rangpur. Two of his four brothers have passed away, while another brother, Gopinath Chakraborty, is ill and lives in the village.

Biswajit Roy, Gopinath Chakraborty's son-in-law, said Ganapati Chakraborty used to rent houses in various areas of Rangpur city previously. In 2010, he bought six decimals of land in Mashuapara village and started construction work on a three-story building there three years ago.

After retirement, Ganapati practised homeopathic medicine.

Biswajit said he could not imagine that anyone could kill such a good man and his family members in this way.