A couple with injury marks were found dead in their Bhowanipore home in south Kolkata when one of their daughters, whose calls they were not answering, visited the apartment to check on them on Monday evening, police said.
Ashok Shah, 60, a trader, and wife Rashmita, 56, were found lying on the floor in separate rooms. Newspapers and plates were strewn in the living room, which led the police to suspect that there was a scuffle.
The police said the couple lived on a first-floor flat in a three-storey building — 73A Harish Mukherjee Road — with one of their daughters. Two other daughters of the couple are married and they live elsewhere.
The building on Harish Mukherjee Road, not far from Mitra Institution, is in a congested neighbourhood lined with apartment blocks and standalone buildings.
Police commissioner Vineet Goyal, who visited the spot, said: “Primarily, some stab injuries can be seen and some injuries from blunt weapons can also be seen.”
He said no evidence was found that could suggest the couple were shot dead. “The homicide wing and the local police station are working on it. The bodies will be sent for post-mortem,” Goyal said.
The three-story building in Bhowanipore where Ashok Shah and wife Rashmita were found murdered. The couple lived in a first-floor flat in the building Sourced by The Telegraph
A family source said one of the daughters of the couple, who is married and lives with her family in Bhowanipore, had been trying to contact her parents since morning but the couple were not answering her calls.
“She was worried that her parents were not taking calls. So she arrived at the apartment around 6.15pm and found the main door of the flat open. On entering the house she found her mother lying near the main door and her father in another room inside,” said a relative.
According to a preliminary statement of the family to the police, a gold ring and chain that Shah wore and a chain and bangles that Rashmita wore were missing.
An officer who visited the spot said the doors of one of the cupboards were ajar. Food, newspapers and plates were strewn all over the living room, suggesting there was a struggle.
“The television was still on when we reached the spot. There were signs of struggle in the room. According to the family, some gold ornaments on the couple are missing. We are yet to ascertain the motive of the murder,” said an investigator.
The police deployed a sniffer dog to look for clues.
Mayor Firhad Hakim, who went to the spot, said the couple were possibly shot dead. “Let the police carry out their investigation. They will find out the culprit,” Hakim said.
The police said they would check the footage of the two CCTV cameras installed on an adjoining building, that possibly cover the road the killer might have taken to enter the building where the couple lived.
Sources said two persons were spotted in a footage heading towards the building on Monday.
Neighbours said the couple had been living in the neighbourhood for around 18 years. “They were peace-loving people. Cannot recall a single instance when they had fought with anyone in the neighbourhood,” said a next-door neighbour.
