Police have sought a three-day remand to question Siddhartha Das and Mugdho Das, arrested in the killing of retired teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and three members of his family in Rangpur city.
However, taking into account their earlier confessional statement under section 164, the appointment of a new investigating officer, and the overall circumstances, the court instead ordered that they be questioned at the jail gate for three hours a day over two days.
Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court judge Md Rafiqul Islam issued the order Monday afternoon, August 31.
At a subsequent press briefing, Metropolitan Police Detective Branch deputy commissioner Sanatan Chakraborty said: “Even after their confessional statement under section 164, several new pieces of information have come to light. The three-day remand request was made to verify that information further, following the appointment of a new investigating officer.”
He said the accused were not produced in court in person, but legal aid lawyers representing them joined the hearing via video conference. Following the hearing, the court ordered them questioned at the jail gate for three hours a day over two days.
Samples were earlier collected from Siddhartha and Mugdho for dope testing around noon Sunday, August 30. Police said the test found no presence of drugs in their systems.
Police had recovered the bodies of retired teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife, daughter and son from Machhuapara in Rangpur city on August 22. Siddhartha Das and Mugdho Das were arrested in connection with the killings. They later gave confessional statements in court under section 164.
Ganapati Chakraborty’s elder brother, Gopinath Chakraborty, filed a case over the killings against unnamed accused at the city’s Kotwali police station. The case was later transferred from the police station to the Metropolitan Detective Branch. DB inspector Jinnat Ali was appointed investigating officer for the case.