Instigators Are Attempting to Divert Incident and Manufacture Issues
A high-profile murder case in Rangpur has increased public interest in the shocking assassination of retired school teacher Mr. Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife, and their two children. The case, which was originally under local police authority, has now been moved to the Detective Branch (DB) due to concerns from advocacy organisations and civic leaders for an open, fair investigation into the actual motives behind the horrific act.
The incident occurred when the accused, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das, took many Yaba tablets before going inside the house. Investigators said that after Mr. Chakraborty entered the roof and rebuked them, the suspects murdered him with a towel and covered his body with tin sheets. Ms. Pritilata Chakraborty, the teacher’s wife, and her daughter, Ms. Agami Chakraborty Prarththi, went to the rooftop when they heard sounds, and Mugdha used a towel to strangle Ms. Pritilata. Siddhartha muffled Ms. Agami at the same moment and then killed her with towels and ropes.
When the culprits came upon Mr. Priyom, the younger son, the violence continued downstairs. Mr. Priyom identified Siddhartha, and the suspects chose to kill him by strangling him on his bed. To destroy suspected surveillance cameras, Siddhartha cut the ground-floor electrical meter cable before taking a shower, then took another Yaba tablet and ate dates and cucumbers.
Investigators found that after first gathering at neighbour Mr. Shimanta Chandra Das’s home to use drugs and then buying more from a dealer called Shant, the suspects consumed a total of nine Yaba pills- eight before and one after the murders. The two robbed the room and left with gold and 15,000 BDT to cover off the multi-homicide as a theft. After checking some of the jewellery by burning it and burying the stolen gold close to a neighbor’s home, Siddhartha left behind forensic evidence, such as date pits, burnt bangles, and drug paraphernalia, which ultimately led to Mugdha and Siddhartha being arrested.
Civil society organisations have expressed deep concerns about potential violations and administrative silence during current investigations. Metropolitan President Advocate Mr. Jobaidul Islam Bullet and women’s rights activist Ms. Manjusree Saha were among the speakers at an SUJAN-organized rally on Wednesday. They criticised the authorities, pointing out that drug tests were not initially carried out and urging officials to examine victim communications regarding death threats, power outages, and disabled CCTV cameras. Protesters questioned why senior authorities had kept silent on the issue, dismissed the police’s first claims, and wanted the maximum punishment possible.
The investigation has been made more difficult by the controversy surrounding an alleged attempt by a vested quarter to turn the murder case into a social issue. Unregistered websites and social media, according to critics, have been flooded with bizarre disinformation, such as fake narratives that claim the female victims were raped before their deaths. This disinformation strategy particularly took advantage of a widely shared video in which a mortuary attendant made statements that were in direct opposition to official forensic and autopsy results.
During a press conference, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud addressed the public and growing demands, emphasizing that the case is being prioritized with multiple teams actively investigating. DB Inspector Mr. Jinnat Ali and Metropolitan DB Deputy Commissioner Mr. Sanatan Chakraborty verified that Siddhartha’s scratches further linked him to the crime, and witness accounts from Shimanta supported the suspects’ confessions. Authorities claim that nothing is being hidden as they try to complete a thorough and unbiased inquiry, with concrete evidence being forwarded to specialists for analysis and forensic results still awaited.
