Mamata assures all help to kin of Jiaganj victims

Kolkata: The family members of deceased primary school teacher Bandhu Prakash Pal met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna on Friday and made it clear that there are no political connections involved in his killing and that of his wife and son. The BJP had alleged that the triple murder was "political". The family members also expressed their confidence in the investigation carried out by the state police who have already managed to arrest prime accused Utpal Behra in this connection.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her sympathy towards us and has assured us of all possible assistance including legal help if required," said Pal's cousin Rajesh Ghosh. He was accompanied by Pal's brother-in-law Diptiman Sarkar and other family members.

Bandhu Prakash Pal, his wife Beauty and their five-year-old son Angan were found murdered at their home in Lebu Bagan area of Jiaganj on October 8.

Soon after the triple murder came to light, the BJP was desperate to give a political angle. A delegation led by senior BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and S S Ahluwalia met President Ramnath Kovind in Delhi on October 15 and sought his intervention. They were vocal in their demand of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the matter.

The Murshidabad district police with the assistance of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday arrested Utpal Behra, a construction worker from Sagardighi and said the killings were a result of monetary dispute related to an insurance policy.

Police sources had informed that Behra had got into an 11-year term policy with a yearly premium of Rs 24,167 through Pal. "He had claimed during questioning that while he got the receipt for the first year, Pal did not give him the receipt for the second year even after he had paid the premium. He had called up Pal to return his money as he was not providing him with the policy papers and was allegedly greeted with abuses. Soon after the telephonic conversation, Behra decided to take revenge by killing Pal," an investigating officer said adding that the victim's wife and son were killed as they knew Behra and could have identified him. The sleuths are examining if any other person was involved in the crime.