india

Updated: Oct 13, 2019 23:08 IST

The Murshidabad district police for the second consecutive day interrogated Souvik Banik, a friend and business partner of Bandhu Prakash Pal (35) who, along with his wife Beauty (28) and son Angan (6) were stabbed to death inside their house in the Jiaganj area on the afternoon of October 8. Beauty Pal was in her eighth month of pregnancy.

The murders rocked the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that Bandhu Prakash Pal was a Rashtriya Shayamsevak Sangh activist and the murder was an act of political vendetta. Pal’s relatives have denied both claims. Even the RSS has not clarified whether Pal was a worker.

Five days into the investigation, the Murshidabad police is exploring business angles since Pal was into some ventures with Banik though he was a school teacher by profession.

The police have found during the investigation that the deceased had borrowed a huge amount of money for his business. The police also found that cash and jewellery in Pal’s house were not touched by the assailant.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an investigating officer said, “Several people have been quizzed. There was a business-related tension between Bandhu Prakash Pal and one of his partners.”

On Sunday afternoon, a five-member team of the Criminal Investigation Department, which is helping the district police, visited Barala-Sahapur village and talked to Bandhu Prakash Pal’s mother, Maya Pal. The team also talked to several villagers and relatives of Pal.

Maya Pal said, “The officers asked me whether I suspect anyone. They mentioned some names but I could not recognize any of them.”

Sujoy Ghosh, Pal’s cousin said, “My brother was associated with a number of businesses but we are not aware of the details. He was an introvert and never shared anything with us. He was close to Souvik Banik. I heard that they were business partners.”

The district police have formed several teams and deployed officers who have headed Jiaganj police station in the past.

A Congress team led by legislator Manoj Chakraborty and Abu Hena visited Jiaganj on Sunday. Chakraborty alleged that after the crime, the district police were not proactive at all. “The chief minister has to take responsibility for the failure of the police,” he said.