'Their faces burnt': Disturbing details emerge in Bangladesh Hindu family murder

A Hindu family of four was found murdered inside their locked home in Bangladesh’s Rangpur city, with investigators uncovering disturbing details about the killings and an alleged attempt to destroy evidence.The victims were identified as retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, 50, their 23-year-old daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi and their 12-year-old son Priyam Chakraborty. Their bodies were recovered from their home in the Daspara (Machhuapara) area at around 11.30pm on Saturday.According to Bangladesh’s The Daily Star, Pritilata’s younger sister Puja Chakraborty said the family noticed that the victims’ faces had been burnt when the bodies were handed over to them.“When we received the bodies in the evening, we found that their faces had been burned. Earlier, police did not allow us to go near the bodies,” Puja said.Sumit Chowdhury, acting superintendent of police of CID Rangpur, told The Daily Star that investigators suspected a flammable substance had been used on the victims’ faces.“The killers appear to have poured a flammable substance on the victims’ faces either before or after killing them. At this stage, we cannot say what substance was used. The investigating officer will collect samples and send them to the CID forensic department for examination. We will know more once the test results are available.”The bodies were found in different parts of the house. The mother and daughter were found on the staircase, Ganapati’s body was recovered from the roof, while Priyam was found under a bed. Police initially suspected that the family had been strangled, with the killings believed to have taken place between midnight on Thursday and early Friday.Investigators said suspects Mugdha and Siddhartha allegedly remained inside the house after the killings. According to Prothom Alo, they reportedly bathed there, ate dates and cucumbers from the refrigerator and used yaba before leaving on Friday during Jummah prayers, when the streets were relatively quiet.Police also found cupboards and drawers opened and belongings scattered, suggesting an attempt to make the killings appear to be a robbery. Evidence allegedly indicated an attempt to test a gold bangle using fire, while two phones belonging to the victims had been submerged in water mixed with detergent, apparently to destroy evidence.The suspects were detained based on these clues and allegedly confessed during questioning, police said. Gold jewellery believed to have been stolen was later recovered from an abandoned location they identified. Date pits found inside the house have also been sent for DNA testing, according to Prothom Alo.Puja said the family had not been heard from since Thursday and all four phones were switched off. Police later broke open the locked main gate and found the bodies.Police, CID and Detective Branch teams are jointly investigating the case, while preparations were under way to file a murder case.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.