Two brothers were arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder of Sushmita Mondal, 47, and her son Tamojit, 13, at their Parnasree home in southwest Kolkata's Behala last Monday.
The accused were the first cousins of the victim. Police said they killed the homemaker with the intention to rob cash and jewelry because one of the brothers had run up huge debts.
“Sanjay and Sandip Das are first cousins of Sushmita. Sanjay masterminded the murder. He planned to rob cash and valuables. Her son was killed because he saw the murder,” said Murlidhar Sharma, joint commissioner, crime, Kolkata police.
Sushmita, 47, and her son Tamojit, 13, were found dead in separate rooms of their apartment on the second floor of a building at 250 Gopal Mishra Road in Parnasree.
The police said Sanjay worked at a company that dealt with CCTV cameras and Sandip drove an advocate’s car. The two were arrested after interrogations at Lalbazar.
The police said Sanjay was debt-ridden and sought a loan of Rs 5,000 from Sushmita a few months ago. She apparently refused to give him the money.
“Sanjay was angry with Sushmita because of the refusal,” said an officer.
On Monday, Sanjay left office early telling colleagues that a relative had died. From his office he went to his brother’s office to pick him up.
The police said Sanjay was carrying a large knife, which is used to cut cables while installing CCTV cameras.
The brothers had entered the building where Sushmita lived around 1pm on Monday and pressed the calling bell of their cousin’s flat.
“We came to know that Sushmita had served the brothers tea and cake and closed the door of the room where Tamojit was attending his online class,” said an officer.
“Sanjay first attacked Sushmita with the knife, who ran into her bedroom trying to escape. But the brothers followed her and overpowered her.”
Tamojit apparently heard his mother’s screams and came out of the room and saw the murder. “Tamojit was killed because he became a witness to his mother’s murder,” the officer said.
The ‘operation’ was over in an hour, after which the accused left.
Sushmita’s husband returned home later at night and found his wife and son murdered. As news of the deaths spread, Sanjay visited the Parnasree apartment to express condolences to Sushmita’s husband.
“Sanjay tried his best to pretend as if everything was normal. But Sandip was very nervous,” said an officer.
The police said they had gathered electronic evidence that pointed to the involvement of the brothers in the murder.