Two grandsons of Jagadish Mallick, 72, whose body was found in a bathroom in his house early on Sunday, have been arrested on the murder charge.
Police suspect Karan Biswas, 23, and Manoharan Mandal, 22, who have been charged under IPC Section 302 (murder), killed their grandfather following a property-related dispute.
The two, sons of a daughter of Mallick, were sent to police custody for 14 days.
An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said the two had emerged as prime suspects as multiple people had seen them enter the house of Mallick, a rice wholesaler, on Saturday night.
“Though multiple neighbours said they had seen Biswas and Mandal enter the house in Baguiati’s Aswininagar, none saw them leave. The front door leading to the second floor of the house, where the victim was found dead, was bolted when our team arrived,” the officer said.
Mallick’s son Biswajit, who stays elsewhere in the city, lodged a complaint on Sunday naming Biswas and Mandal as suspects.
According to the officer, the two had initially denied any involvement in Mallick’s death.
But they broke down during questioning and said an argument broke out when the two asked their grandfather to transfer his properties and business to them, the officer said.
“When Mallick refused, the two grandsons tied his hands and feet. They then hit him in an attempt to make him agree to their demands. As he repeatedly turned down their demand, they hit him on the head with a blunt metal and then strangled him,” the officer said.
After the elderly man became still, the grandsons allegedly opened a small back door of the house and escaped.