Kolkata, Oct 21 (IANS): Within 72 hours after the murder of a man named Subir Chaki (61) and his driver Bimal Mondal in the Gariahat area in the heart of the city, the Kolkata Police have arrested one person and claimed that the case has been cracked.
Speaking to the media, Kolkata Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra said, "Our Detective Department has solved the case. One person has been arrested and some more arrests will be made. We will formally let you know everything after the arrests are made."
According to sources, the cops were able to crack the case after they arrested one Mithu Halder from Diamond Harbour, some 45 km from Kolkata, on Wednesday. Halder, who has been sent to 14-day police custody after being produced in the court on Thursday, used to work as a maid at Chaki's house in Gariahat.
According to the police, Halder confessed during interrogation that her eldest son Vicky and some other people were involved in the murder.
"It is a case of 'murder for gain'. Chaki, a resident of New Town, was trying to sell his Gariahat house for a long time. Vicky, posing as a potential buyer, had called him and asked him to come to his Gariahat house to settle the deal," a senior officer of the Detective Department said.
"When Chaki and his driver came to Gariahat on Sunday evening, Vicky along with some other persons forced him to pay Rs 1.5 crore. When Chaki refused to pay the amount, they killed him. Mondal was killed because he had identified the criminals. They then went to the Ballygunge station, which is a 10-minute walk from Chaki's house, and took a train," the officer said.
The cops first got a clue in the case when the owner of Halder's rented home in Diamond Harbour informed the police that he had seen her washing blood-stained clothes. The owner also informed the cops that when he asked her about it, she said that her son had a fight during Durga Puja immersion and so there was blood-stain on his clothes.
The police, however, came to know that there was no quarrel or fighting in Diamond Harbour on that day. The cops then arrested her and during interrogation, she broke down and told everything to the police.
"We are looking for Vicky and his accomplices and we hope to find them soon. Once we take them into custody, we will be able to get more details about the murder," the officer added.
The murder came to light when officers from the Gariahat police station, responding to calls from Chaki's relatives, went to his house and found Chaki and his driver lying dead inside the house.
"According to one of his relatives, Chaki was trying to sell his house and so he went to Gariahat to show the house to one of the buyers. When he didn't return till late night, his family members tried to contact him over phone but both the phones of Chaki and Mondal were switched off. The desperate family members then informed the police," a senior officer said.