Debasish Bagchi: Lavish lifestyle. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Police are yet to ascertain Debasish Bagchi’s motive for killing his wife Swarnali in their Hari Ghosh Street house on Monday.

According to the investigators, Bagchi had borrowed from several moneylenders and did not have the means to repay the loans.

“The debt may not have been the only reason why Bagchi murdered Swarnali and tried to kill their 11-year-old son. The motive is not clear. We are exploring all angles,” said Deepak Kumar Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Burtola police station.

Debasish, who worked as a sub-contractor for the public works department, was caught red-handed by mother Beethika while killing his wife and trying to smother Dibakar. He had strangled Swarnali with a gamchha and then gagged her with a pillow.

“During interrogation, he made contradictory statements about how much he had borrowed from moneylenders. We spoke to his neighbours and questioned his family about his relationship with his wife,” added Dutta.

Moneylenders used to visit the Hari Ghosh Street house every day and Bagchi was in desperate need to repay the loans. “It’s not clear why he had borrowed such a large sum of money. He told us that he wanted to start a business and needed money but we are not satisfied with his reply,” said an investigating officer.

The house, reportedly worth over Rs 1 crore, was gifted to Dibakar by his grandfather. The police had said that Bagchi might have tried to kill his son so that he could sell off the house.

On Tuesday, the sleuths questioned Bagchi’s friends and learnt that he used to frequent bars in central Calcutta and had been returning home late for the past six months.

“He had a lavish lifestyle and used to visit Sonagachhi with his friends. His wife had found out about this and insisted that he stop philandering,” said an investigator.