Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the bereaved Lakhanis at their Bhowanipore home on Wednesday and assured the family of “strong action” against the people who committed the crime.
On her return from north Bengal on Wednesday afternoon, Mamata went straight from the airport to the Lakhanis’ residence on the top floor of an apartment block at 13 Priyanath Mallick Road.
“I have no words to console the family…. I think this is a pre-planned murder, the way the body has been hidden and the space cemented,” she said.
“He was the guardian of the family and he is no more now. The elder son is appearing for the exams. Another son is in Class VII,” Mamata said.
Bhavya’s friends and relatives surrounded her when she spoke to waiting journalists.
“Police have arrested two persons. They will also
check if anyone else is involved. The police will take strong action against all those involved. The case has been taken over by the homicide wing,” Mamata said and asked Calcutta police commissioner Vineet Goyal to brief the media about the progress of the investigation.
“Our technical team, police station, the ARS (anti-rowdy squad), all were activated. We brought Anirban Gupta, whom the victim had last met, to the PS (police station). His associate, Suman Das, was also brought. Das broke down. When he was questioned face-to-face with Gupta, both admitted their crime and, pursuing their statements, the body was recovered,” Goyal said.
In 2022, chief minister Mamata Banerjee and police commissioner Goyal had visited the house of Ashok and Rashmita Shah, a couple who were killed at their Bhowanipore home, and assured their daughters that the prime accused would be arrested soon.
Two years later, Calcutta police have yet to arrest the alleged mastermind.
An officer earlier posted in the detective department said “a lot of efforts” were made to nab the accused, but the efforts did not yield any result.
“The mastermind of that case (the murder of Ashok and Rashmita Shah) was related to the family. But he is still at large,” said the officer who did not wish to be named.
Bhavya’s wife Neha requested the police commissioner to recover the amount that her husband was supposed to get from his alleged killer.
“We don’t want to use that money. I will donate the money. But we want to recover it from that man,” Neha Lakhani told the top cop.