Dhaka, August 24: Bangladesh police have arrested two young men in connection with the brutal murder of a retired Hindu school teacher and his family in Rangpur. The incident has sparked outrage in the community.
According to local media reports, the police stated that the retired teacher attempted to stop the suspects from using ‘yaba’ (an illegal methamphetamine) on the roof of his house. This confrontation allegedly led to a murder plot.
The suspects, identified as 23-year-old Siddharth Das and 19-year-old Mugdha Das, were apprehended at the Dakhiganj crematorium in the city. Reports suggest they vandalized the house to make the murder appear as a robbery.
The tragic event occurred on August 20, and police discovered the bodies of all four family members two days later, on Saturday night.
After the incident, the suspects reportedly used the bathroom, ate dates from the table, and consumed yaba. According to the Dhaka Tribune, police revealed that they submerged the mobile phones of the victims, Ganapati and Preetilata, in a washing powder solution to erase fingerprints.
The victims have been identified as 65-year-old Ganapati Chakraborty, a retired teacher, his 50-year-old wife Preetilata, their 23-year-old daughter Prarthi, and their 12-year-old son Priyam.
During a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud claimed that the suspects were using yaba on the roof late Thursday night when the retired teacher went upstairs after hearing noises.
Ganapati saw the suspects using drugs and attempted to intervene, after which they allegedly strangled him with a towel. Hearing his screams, Preetilata and Prarthi rushed to the roof, where they were also reportedly strangled. The commissioner stated that the suspects then entered the house and similarly killed the couple’s only son, Priyam. Based on the investigation, police indicated that the suspects remained inside the house until Friday morning.
Following the incident, hundreds of students from Rangpur District School boycotted classes on Sunday. They protested, demanding the immediate arrest of the murderers and capital punishment for them.
The students marched to the offices of the Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the district administration, submitting separate memorandums while calling for justice. According to the Dhaka Tribune, they later formed a human chain on the main road in front of the school to demonstrate.
Meanwhile, the prominent organization working for the rights of minorities, the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, condemned this brutal murder and called for the death penalty for the culprits.
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