Vicky Halder, the key accused in the murder of Subir Chaki and his driver Rabin Mondal, has been arrested in Mumbai along with his alleged associate Subhankar Mondal.
Police said Vicky, 26, and Subhankar, 35, were arrested on Saturday from the ground-floor parking lot of a 48-storey building under construction on St Xavier's Street in Parel East.
The two, who were allegedly working as guards at the construction site, were produced at a court in Mumbai. Kolkata police got transit remand for the two till November 3 and the accused will be produced at Alipore court on Tuesday.
Investigators said they had learnt that Vicky had spent a few months working as a guard in Mumbai, where he had picked up English and Hindi, a year ago.
Several youths from Diamond Harbour in the South 24-Parganas district adjacent to Kolkata — where Vicky lived with his mother and his younger brother — work as labourers at various construction sites in Mumbai.
“We gathered that Vicky and one of his friends had boarded a train from Howrah station on the night of October 18. We realised he was headed for Mumbai,” said the officer.
“We have been tracking him for the last few days and tracked him down to a construction site in Parel East.”
Chaki, managing director of Kilburn Engineering Ltd, and Mondal were found murdered at a house on Kankulia Road, off Golpark in Gariahat, on October 17 night.
The house was Chaki’s ancestral property, which he had been planning to sell for more than a year. Chaki lived in New Town with his wife and mother and visited the Kankulia Road house on October 17 to meet a prospective buyer.
The police suspect Vicky and his gang had murdered Chaki with the intention of robbing cash and valuables.
“It appears Vicky and Subhankar fled Kolkata a day after the twin murders. After reaching Mumbai, they took the job of watchmen,” the officer said. “We are trying to tie loose ends to draw the whole picture.”
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Subhankar, from Basanti in South 24-Parganas, had first met Vicky at a construction site on Fern Road where he worked as supervisor, the officer said. Subhankar worked as a labourer.
Details are yet to emerge but officers suspect Vicky had lured Subhankar into the plot with the promise of a huge sum.
On the afternoon of October 17, Vicky and Subhankar walked down from Fern Road to the Kankulia Road house. They were joined by three other youths from Diamond Harbour, who the police said had arrived at Ballygunge station by train and from there walked to Kankulia Road.
Mithu, Vicky's mother, had allegedly promised money to the three youths from Diamond Harbour, who were struggling to survive amid the pandemic.
While the group of five entered the house, where Subir was waiting to meet a prospective buyer, Mithu waited outside.
All six accused are now behind bars.