Two associates of Vicky Halder were arrested on Friday after a prolonged interrogation at Lalbazar for their alleged role in the murders of Subir Chaki, managing director of Kilburn Engineering Ltd, and his driver, Rabin Mondal.
The two were found dead in Chaki’s ancestral house on Kankulia Road, off Golpark, in south Kolkata on Sunday night. Vicky, a key accused in the twin murders, is on the run.
The two arrested on Friday — Bapi Mondal, 27 and Zahir Gazi, 25 — are residents of Naiyapara in Diamond Harbour, where Vicky and his mother Mithu stayed in a rented accommodation.
Mithu was arrested in connection with the killings on Wednesday.
“Bapi and Zahir are daily wage earners. They were engaged by Mithu for the crime,” said a senior officer of the detective department.
“The two were among the four who were with Vicky when Subir Chaki and Rabin Mondal were killed on Sunday evening. Bapi and Zahir have admitted to the crime. They will be produced in court on Saturday.”
Officers investigating the twin murders said they learnt about the role played by Bapi and Zahir in the killings after questioning Mithu throughout Thursday and early Friday.
“We are yet to find any criminal antecedents of the two. We are in the process of finding out whether Mithu had promised them money,” the officer said.
The police have learnt that the murder plan was finalised on Saturday night, a day before the twin murders and after Chaki agreed to meet the alleged assassins, who posed as prospective buyers of the Kankulia Road house.
Mithu finalised the plan after consulting Vicky, officers said. She allegedly accompanied the four youths, excluding Vicky, on their train journey from Diamond Harbour to Ballygunge on Sunday afternoon.
Vicky, who worked as a guard at an underconstruction project on Fern Road till a few days back, reached the house around 4pm separately.
“Guided by Mithu, the four walked the stretch from Ballygunge station to the Kankulia Road house of Chaki. Vicky joined them outside the house, while Mithu stayed away,” said an officer.
“It appears Vicky called up Mithu after committing the crime. It was drizzling then. When the intensity of the rain increased and the roads became deserted, Mithu asked Vicky to step out.”
Vicky handed his blood-stained shirt and some other items to Mithu.
The four other youths and the woman then walked to Ballygunge station.
The next morning, Mithu’s landlady in Diamond Harbour's Naiyapara saw her wash a blood-stained shirt. On being asked, Mithu allegedly said his son injured himself during a puja immersion.
The police seized the shirt after arresting Mithu and sent it for a forensic examination.
Officers suspect Mithu had possibly thought that after robbing Chaki of cash, she would share a part of it with Vicky’s partners in crime.
“The exact details of the deal between Mithu and Vicky's associates is yet to be known,” an officer said. “It seems the gang did not find much cash in Chaki’s house and so they targeted his gold ring.”
Vicky had apparently told his father Subhas and uncles that he had worked for some time as an assistant to those who performed post-mortem at the forensic department of the government hospital in Diamond Harbour before shifting to Mumbai.
“We are verifying the claim,” the officer said.
Preliminary post-mortem reports have revealed that Chaki had suffered deep cuts on his neck and leg and his driver on his back, neck and leg.
"The driver’s was a clean cut with a sharp weapon from his throat to the neck. We are trying to find out whether anyone in the gang knows how to slit open human body parts," the officer said.
Chaki, who had planned to sell the Kankulia Road house, lived in New Town with his wife and mother. His son lives in London and daughter in Bangalore.
Chaki had gone to the Golpark house on Sunday to meet Vicky, who had introduced himself as a prospective buyer.