A woman, her husband and the husband’s uncle were arrested on Friday for allegedly plotting and murdering her 26-year-old brother, in Dakshineswar on the city’s northern fringes over a property dispute.

The youth, Apurbo Ghosh, was found lying on his bed inside a room in his Dakshineswar house on Wednesday night with multiple bleeding injuries, police said.

His parents, who run a fruit shop in Alambazar, called their daughter Alaktika Das in Serampore and informed the police. Apurbo was taken to a hospital nearby where doctors declared him dead. The body was sent for post-mortem and a murder case was drawn up at Dakshineswar police station.

Alaktika rushed from her in-laws’ place to join her grieving parents at their Dakshineswar house with Sudip, her husband, and stayed till the completion of the funeral rites on Thursday.

On Friday, the police arrested the two along with Sanjib Patra, Sudip’s uncle.

“Alaktika plotted the murder with her husband and Sanjib. Her brother had allegedly refused her a share of the family’s properties, including a house, a godown and a shop. This led to the murder,” said a senior officer of Barrackpore police commissionerate.

“The sister and her husband were initially misleading us but finally all the three have admitted their crime.”

In a reconstruction of the events leading to the murder, the police said Alaktika, Sudip and Sanjib had joined Apurbo over drinks on June 1 at the latter’s Dakshineswar house.

“Apurbo had abused Sanjib and others over drinks and this did not go down well with Sudip, his uncle and Alaktika,” the officer said.

“Apurbo had said he had come in contact with some criminals during his brief stay at a de-addiction centre. He would not give in if his sister insisted on getting a share of the properties.”

On Wednesday (June 12), Alaktika and Sudip — the couple have a three-year-old son — joined Sanjib at his house for drinks.

The police said Alaktika suggested the two men leave for her Dakshineswar house immediately where her brother would be alone with her parents away. “There are reasons to believe that Sudip and Sanjib reached Dakshineswar and killed Apurbo with sharp knives. After wrapping up, one of them called Alaktika to inform her the job was done.”

Apurbo’s parents told police their son was looking for a job after passing out of ITI. Over a year now he was look ing after family businesses. “They were not aware of the feud between the brother and the sister over property,” the officer said.