Couple arrested for killing elderly neighbour, looting valuables

A couple was arrested on charges of killing a 72-year-old woman as she had identified the accused while they were decamping with valuables from her house. The incident took place at Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas district on Thursday night.

The victim, identified as Rina Chakrabarty (72), used to stay all alone till late night at her house. Her son, a jewellery shop owner at Behala spotted her mother's body on Thursday night and called up police.

After the preliminary investigation, police arrested neighbouring couple – Biplab Mukherjee and Suparna Mukherjee — in connection with the case.

"Biplab had a criminal past and he was arrested earlier on different charges. The local residents caught her wife Suparna while she was trying to escape from the area with the valuables looted from the elderly woman's house. Later, the couple was handed over to the police," a police officer said.

"I saw that the TV was on and my mother was lying on the bed. Her face was covered with a pillow and her clothes were stained in blood. Then, I saw blood spots on the bed and floor," said Mithun Chakrabarty, son of the deceased.

The investigators suspected that the victim had identified the assailant, so the assailant had no other option but to kill her.

"The assailant broke the rooftop door and entered the house. The elderly woman was watching TV while the intruders attacked her. The victim managed to remove the veil from the face of the assailant and identified him," said an investigator.

"We suspect that the assailant used a sharp weapon to slash her body and in the end, he used the pillow to suffocate her to death. We were really confused about the reason of using pillow but later came to know that the assailant was not quite sure about her death. He actually wanted to ensure her death as quick as possible," the investigator added.

Meanwhile, the neighbours caught Suparna Mukherjee early on Friday with a bag in which she was carrying gold ornaments and mobile phones, looted from the elderly woman's house. Suparna was beaten up by the neighbours before she confessed to the crime by her husband Biplab.

"We suspect the involvement of a few others apart from Biplab and Suparna. The accused couple committed the crime at spot but the conspiracy was made by other people," the officer added.