Ramen Saha: Fatal attraction

Ramen Saha paid with his life for an extramarital affair, said police, who claimed to have cracked the case on Friday.

Sipra Das and Nazrul Mondal were arrested in Thakurpukur for the alleged murder of the Behala jeweller. His belongings were found in the flat in which the two accused lived together, unravelling a tale of deceit, infidelity and greed.

Ramen, a resident of Rai Bahadur Road, was missing since Sunday afternoon. His body was found behind MR Bangur Hospital on Wednesday. An investigator said the trader was involved in an affair with Sipra, a divorcee who lived with Nazrul in a Kabardanga flat. Nazrul owns a PCO and an autorickshaw.

When Ramen visited the flat on Sunday, the couple offered him food and a bottle of cola laced with sleeping pills, said a police officer.

After the jeweller lost consciousness, the duo strangled him, before taking away his jacket, cellphone, gold rings and chain. The body was allegedly carried to a spot behind the hospital in Nazrul’s autorickshaw.

Ramen’s wife Sabita received anonymous calls after he went missing. On Wednesday morning, a caller who did not identify himself told the couple’s elder daughter that her father’s body was at the hospital. The family then got in touch with police.

“When Sipra and Nazrul found that no one was making inquiries about Ramen’s whereabouts, they called up his home from a PCO. They confessed to making the call during interrogation,” said superintendent of police, South 24-Parganas, S.N. Gupta.

Police had initially suspected Ramen’s brother Khokon of the murder. The cops visited his house in Naihati, but could not find him.

On Thursday night, Khokon surrendered at Behala police station. He told police about Ramen’s relationship with Sipra.