Police on Thursday submitted a chargesheet in connection with the murder of a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old son who were found dead in their Parnasree apartment in Behala in southwest Kolkata in September.
The woman’s first cousins, who had earlier been arrested for the crime, have been charged with murder, robbery and common intention by the police.
Sushmita Mandal and her son Tamojit were found dead inside their Parnasree apartment on the second floor of a building on 250 Gopal Mishra Road.
Investigators had arrested Sanjay Kumar Das alias Bappa and Sandip Das alias Babin in connection with the crime and found that Sushmita was killed for money and jewellery while her son was killed because he had witnessed the crime.
The police said the brothers had been chargesheeted under sections 302, 394 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code for murder, robbery and common intention respectively. The charges could lead to capital punishment if the offence could be proved as “rarest of rare” in the court.
The 1,000-page document that was submitted by the police on Thursday comprised the statements of more than 60 witnesses in the case, an officer said.
The prime accused — Sanjay worked in a company that dealt with CCTV cameras while his brother Sandip drove an advocate’s car.
On the day of the incident, Sanjay had lied at his office and left early telling colleagues that a relative had died.
He then went to pick up his younger brother.
Sushmita and her son were killed with a knife that Sanjay had brought.
Before the incident, Sushmita had served her cousins tea and cake.
Their bodies were found in the apartment by Sushmita’s husband later in the evening when he returned from work. As the news of the death spread, a few hours later, like many other relatives, Sanjay too visited the house to offer his condolences to the family.