Calcutta-based bank official Shashi Prasad was arrested in Jamshedpur on Thursday for orchestrating the murder of his wife of 17 years and their adopted four-year-old son last week with the help of two carpenters, one of whom needed a loan for his sister's wedding.
The 45-year-old prime accused, being grilled since the bodies were discovered inside a rented flat in a residential complex in Mango eight days ago, has confessed to having paid Rs 1 lakh - part of the Rs 5-lakh contract - to the two acquaintances for killing wife Manju (41) and son Dweej so that he could marry his teenaged cousin with whom he had an extramarital affair.
SSP Anoop T. Mathew said police had recovered three gloves and a dagger used in the Mango murders as well as two blood-stained shirts that the killers wore on November 15.
"Shashi and carpenter Mukesh Sharma (26), who was arrested on Wednesday for also murdering his partner in crime and brother-in-law Mohan Sharma (38)earlier this week, will be produced before a judicial magistrate on Friday and forwarded to Ghaghidih Central Jail," the SSP said.
According to the confessional statement, Shashi - a native of Bihar Sharif and working as senior manager with the Indian Overseas Bank in Calcutta for over a year - did not have a happy marriage because Manju, whom he married in 1999, could never conceive and they had to adopt Dweej from Guwahati four years ago to silence gossip-mongers.
"However, the new member in the family didn't revive love between the couple. Instead, Shashi found himself drawn to an 18-year-old woman, his distant cousin from Gujarat. He wanted to marry his new love, but Manju and Dweej, whom he had to send monthly maintenance, were in the way," SSP Mathew said.
Carpenters Mukesh and Mohan, residents of Mango, were known to the couple because they had worked at the rented flat in Madhusudan Complex earlier.
"Two months ago, Mukesh approached Shashi for a bank loan to cover his sister's marriage, slated for December 8. The banker grabbed the opportunity. Shashi promised the carpenter a payment of Rs 5 lakh if the latter could eliminate Manju and Dweej. The banker asked Mukesh to kill the two and make it look like a burglary gone wrong," Mathew said.
The SSP added that murder modalities were finalised on November 5 at Dimna Chowk, where Shashi paid an advance of Rs 1 lakh to Mukesh and his brother-in-law Mohan. The rest was promised after the job was done.
On November 15 morning, the banker called his wife and said two carpenters would come in the afternoon to fix the curtain panel.
"An unsuspecting Manju opened the door to Mukesh and Mohan around 3pm. They asked for water and as soon as she turned towards the kitchen, the men brandished daggers. Dweej saw them and ran towards Manju. Mohan killed the child first and then Mukesh slit Manju's throat. They grabbed some gold and silver ornaments from the almirah, changed into clean shirts belonging to Shashi, threw a glove outside from the balcony to confuse police and then fled, locking the door from outside," Mathew said.
Later, Mukesh and Mohan dumped all evidence - blood-stained shirts, Shashi's shirts, remaining three gloves and two daggers - on the banks of Subernarekha river. The silver was sold to a Sakchi jeweller on November 16 and the gold to a Calcutta jeweller for Rs 35,000 on November 17. The two then resumed their carpentry work in Hata in Potka block, 20km from Jamshedpur.
"But, Mohan was upset with Mukesh because he believed his brother-in-law should have charged more for the murders. Mukesh, on the other hand, didn't like Mohan depositing the gold money into his own wife's account. On Tuesday (November 22), a quarrel broke out between them in Hata. Mukesh assaulted Mohan with a wood-cutting tool and he died," the SSP said.
Other workers handed Mukesh over to Potka police and during interrogation, he spilled the beans about the Mango murders as well.
"CCTV camera at Madhusudan Complex showed the two men at the gate on November 15. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place and later Shashi confessed to his crime," Mathew summed up how they solved the double murder.
Should all homes be equipped with CCTV cameras? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
