Investigators from Kolkata police’s detective department suspect Vicky Halder had four accomplices when he went to Subir Chaki’s house on Kankulia Road, off Golpark, on Sunday.
Chaki, 61, managing director of Kilburn Engineering Ltd, and his driver, Rabin Mondal, 65, were found murdered in the house on Sunday night.
On Wednesday, Vicky’s mother, Mithu Halder, was arrested in connection with the twin murders.
When Vicky and four other youths entered Chaki’s house, Mithu waited somewhere closeby, said an officer.
After the youths stepped out following the twin murders, Mithu allegedly guided them to Ballygunge station, where they boarded a train for Diamond Harbour.
Vicky and his associates remained untraced till late on Thursday.
“Having lived with husband Subhas in the vicinity of the Kankulia Road house for almost a decade, Mithu knew the lanes thoroughly,” said a senior police officer.
“The woman had a role in planning and executing the murder and even led the youths to Ballygunge station.”
The police on Thursday took Mithu around the lanes of the area to try and reconstruct the escape of Vicky and others after the twin murders.
After that Mithu was taken to the Alipore sub-divisional court, where she was remanded in police custody till November 3.
The public prosecutor submitted in the court that Mithu was a key conspirator and her prolonged interrogation was required to know all the strands of the conspiracy and also to reach the other accused.
Police commissioner Soumen Mitra said officers from the detective department and others have cracked the twin murder case. “The arrests of a few others involved in this crime are awaited,” Mitra said.
On Wednesday night, within a few hours of Mithu’s arrest, a team left for Diamond Harbour and recovered a shirt that her elder son Vicky had worn while allegedly murdering Chaki and his driver. The shirt was found in a house in Diamond Harbour’s Naiapara where Mithu was staying on rent.
The landlord’s wife had told the police that she found Mithu washing a bloodstained shirt on Monday morning. On being asked about it, Mithu allegedly said Vicky had hurt himself in an immersion procession.
“The shirt is an important piece of evidence. We have sent it for forensic examinations,” an officer said. “We are also looking for the weapon that was allegedly used for the twin murders.”
With Mithu being mum on the possible hideouts of her elder son, investigators have drawn up a list of mobile numbers of Vicky's close friends in Diamond Harbour and in the Kankulia Road area.
The police said Vicky had met several property brokers in and around Gariahat between October and December last year. He knew that Chaki’s ancestral house on Kankulia Road was up for sale.
“Mithu and Vicky had been desperate for money since October last year. They made a futile attempt to raise money by trying to kill Subhas. This time they didn't want to fail,” the officer said.
“It appears Vicky took a small amount from Subir’s possession after murdering him and then snatched one of his gold rings.”
Officers suspect Vicky has sold the ring to make some quick cash to survive while being on the run. Investigators have begun scanning ornament traders in Diamond Harbour who buy and sell old ornaments.
“Vicky will give up once he runs out of cash. We are trying to trace him using our contacts far and wide,” the officer said.
