4 murders in Rangpur: How unjustified the questions raised about information provided by police?

“Brother, is this incident related to yaba? Brother, why did you kill the little kid? Was this shirt yours? Brother, why did you disconnect the electricity line? Brother, who were involved?”

Last Sunday night, Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das, arrested in the sensational case of four murders in Rangpur, were sent to jail after their statement in the Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court. During their transfer from the court building to the prison van, some people were heard asking these questions. Neither of the accused answered.

Late Thursday night, retired teacher of Rangpur Zilla School Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife Preetilata Chakraborty, their postgraduate daughter Agami Chakraborty, and sixth-grade student Priyam Chakraborty were murdered in their own house at Machuapara in Rangpur city. The bodies were recovered on Saturday night.

On Sunday afternoon, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud shared information obtained from the arrested individuals regarding the motive of the murders in a press conference. The Commissioner said Siddhartha and Mugdha went to the rooftop of Ganapati's house to consume yaba again after taking it at their friend Shimanta's house. When Ganapati obstructed them, the two strangled him with the cloth he had on his shoulder. They then killed his wife when she came. In this manner, they also suffocated their children, Agami and Priyam Chakraborty.

The Police Commissioner further mentioned that the two killers jumped from the third floor of neighbouring Debu's house to Ganapati's rooftop. They waited until Friday’s Jummah prayer so that the worshippers wouldn’t see them. After the murder, the killers ate dates and cucumber, and tested gold by lighting a fire. The police commissioner shared more such information, all attributed to the arrested individuals. Many have raised questions about this statement given at the press conference.

In an interview, Rangpur DB Deputy Commissioner Sanatan Chakraborty said that a well-wisher informed him about multiple injury marks on Siddhartha's body. The well-wisher also expressed suspicion about Mugdha. During a site visit, both the DB Deputy Commissioner’s and Siddhartha’s shirts were of the same colour and print. Siddhartha's father stated that he handed his son over to the police in an undershirt. The police officer commented that Aarong didn’t make just one shirt.

It is essential to ponder the public’s questions regarding the details provided by the police. Because, these questions aren't from just a few individuals but from many. If what the police claim is correct, then the quick arrest of the accused is a major positive outcome. In that case, the police deserve thanks.

Questions have emerged in the public mind: 1. Why was the house’s electricity line disconnected? 2. If they consumed yaba at Shimanta’s house, why take the risk of jumping rooftops to consume yaba again? 3. Why didn’t they consume yaba on the roof of the house they jumped from, or in the secluded third floor under construction? 4. Why are references to Friday worshippers in Hindu-dominated Machuapara being made? 5. Isn’t it mysterious that the police officer's shirt is the same? 6. Did Siddhartha, an employee at a jeweler's, buy a shirt from Aarong? 7. Why was the house ransacked? Why did the person who helped identify the accused suspect Mugdha? 9. Did the two kill all four? 10. How could they bathe, eat cucumbers and dates, and test gold after killing four people?

I went to see the house where Ganapati's family was killed in person on Sunday afternoon. Ganapati Chakraborty''s house is a north-facing under-construction two-story building. The ground floor is not finished. Siddhartha's family lives in the adjacent house to the east. Debu’s under-construction house is to the west. To the north is a temple. Mugdha's house is nearby too. Mugdha and Siddhartha are cousins. I spoke briefly with Siddhartha's father. He then went inside their house.

Many believe the cutting of the electricity line was intentional. Many say there’s no connection between obstructing yaba consumption and disconnecting the electricity. Many are unwilling to believe the idea of consuming yaba again after having already consumed it. Debu’s house is also under construction, with only one family living on the second floor. Only the third-floor roof is completed. They could have consumed yaba on that floor or its roof. Mugdha works at a fish shop in the city while Siddhartha works at a jewelry store. Many find it hard to believe that such employees purchased shirts from Aarong. It is unknown why the well-wisher who shared suspicions about Siddhartha also suspected Mugdha.

If what the police say is accurate, people will naturally want credible backing for it. If this horrific incident resulted from intoxication, then the failure to curb such substance abuse falls on the narcotics control authorities and the police. We must also remember that the information the police obtained from the arrested individuals isn't entirely impossible. The nation wants justice for this brutal murder.

Rangpur city is known as a city of happiness. But now living securely there isn’t safe anymore. Regardless of why four murders occurred in a single house, isn’t it true that the city is unsafe? Will this city return to being a city of happiness?

#Tuhin Wadud is a professor at the Department of Bengali at Begum Rokeya University and the director of the river conservation organisation Riverine People.
wadudtuhin@gmail. com

*The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own.

#This article, originally published in Prothom print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam