Three persons were murdered in different locations of Malda during the past 24 hours.

Sources said the body of Rinku Pahari, 27, was found floating in a pond at Baghbari in Palashbari, which is around 5km from Englishbazar police station, on Monday. The body had multiple cut injuries and his throat was slit.

His family members said that Pahari, who used to work in a brick kiln, had withdrawn his wage in advance on Sunday to pay school fees for his son.

“He went out in the afternoon with Rs 1,000 in cash. After an hour, as we called him, his cellphone was off. We have no inkling why somebody murdered him,” said a family member.

Police recovered the body.

An unidentified man's body was found in a gunny bag that was kept in a mango orchard in the Khirki-Nalpukur area that is on the outskirts of Malda town on Monday morning. The locality is close to the India-Bangladesh border.

Some locals spotted the bag and felt suspicious. They informed the police who reached the spot and on opening the bag, recovered the body.

Sheikh Sariful, 46, a carpenter, was found dead in a saw-mill at Malior village under Harishchandrapur police station on Monday afternoon.

His family members said Monday morning, he had been to the saw-mill with some timber to get those cut into pieces.

“Suddenly, we came to know he was lying dead in the mill. We rushed to the spot and found that his throat was slashed. We suspect he was murdered,” said Humayun Kabir, the victim’s cousin.

Amlan Bhaduri, the district general secretary of BJP in Malda, said three persons had been murdered in the past 24 hours.

“This shows the pathetic law and order situation in the district. Also, four teenagers, who have gone missing, are yet to be traced. We would shortly launch a protest against the police for their incompetence,” he said.

Asish Kundu, Trinamul’s spokesperson in the district, said the BJP had been trying to create chaos in the district over some stray incidents. “They are simply playing politics. We have full confidence in the police and hope they will crack the cases soon,” said Kundu.

The police said investigations had started. “We are also waiting for the post-mortem reports,” said an officer.