Police revealed on Friday that Deshraj Singh, who shot dead his ex-fiancee Ishita Mullik at her Krishnanagar residence on August 25, had begun posting suggestive texts and pictures hinting at a deadly “final settlement” with his classmate-turned-lover.

The investigators said the murder was meticulously planned and a foregone
conclusion for Deshraj, as substantiated by a photograph traced from his social
media account.

The image showed Deshraj with a pistol tucked into his waistband, captioned with the chilling words: “Dead body soon”, which they believe points to his murderous intent.

According to the sleuths, Deshraj not only posted such images but also urged mutual friends to convey a threatening message to Ishita, warning her of the “ultimate fallout” of her rejection. This, they said, showed that the crime was premeditated and not impulsively triggered.

With the recovery of the social media posts made earlier in August, the police concluded that Deshraj had already secured a firearm well before the murder, dismissing initial speculation that he had procured it through his cousin, who had visited Kanchrapara from Deoria on August 19 and left a day before the killing.

“It could not be ascertained so far from where Deshraj had actually obtained the gun. But we came to know that he had visited his native town Deoria in Uttar Pradesh last month and might have returned to Kanchrapara with the firearm, since several of his extended family members have criminal antecedents and could have provided him with the weapon,” a police officer said.

Krishnanagar police also claimed that Deshraj’s extended family members in Deoria were not cooperating with the probe.

“Since the role of some of the extended family members, who shared a close
rapport with Deshraj, is under the scanner, they are not cooperating enough and are even instigating local people against us, which has made things quite difficult. Nevertheless, we are hopeful of nabbing Deshraj and unravelling the mystery behind the murder,” said a senior officer of Krishnanagar police district.

With Deshraj remaining elusive even three days after the murder, family members of the victim said they were not happy with the police investigation.

“It is not clear what the police are actually doing...all of us are gradually losing patience,” a family member of Ishita said.

Frequent incidents of firing in Krishnanagar this year raised questions about law and order in the town. However, the police said steps were being taken to impound illegal firearms.