KOLKATA: At least one of the three suspects that police have narrowed down to in the Harish Mukherjee Road double murder case had visited Ashok and Rashmita Shah's residence on Friday, three days prior to the killings. The investigators also recovered Ashok's missing mobile on Tuesday night, a find that helped the cops track the footprint of the accused after the murders were committed.
"One of the suspects had visited the Shah residence a few days before the murders. It could have been to carry out a recce before committing the crime," said an investigating officer. Police sources said the couples' youngest daughter, Disha, confirmed that the suspect, a close acquaintance of the family, had dropped by on Friday but left shortly.
Ashok's cellphone, which had not been switched off, was dumped in a manhole near a merchant building in the Esplanade-Dalhousie area. It was recovered on Tuesday night. Cops said that with the post-mortem establishing that the murders took place between 1pm and 2.30pm on Monday, an examination of the tower locations of the cellphones of the people known to the family further bolstered the police's suspicion about the three persons.
The three are among those known to the Shahs- either friends or relatives - who frequented the area from where Ashok's dumped mobile was found. "Ashok and a few of his closest acquaintances had their offices in the area. A couple of them lived outside the city at the moment," said an officer.
Shahs' daughters also helped police stitch together the family history of the past two decades on Harish Mukherjee Road. "There was some animosity between Ashok and some members of the extended family in the past. We are ascertaining if it had anything to do with the murder," explained a source.
Police said that the investigation so far had all but ruled out mere "murder for gain" as motive. "The items looted is not significant though some cash is missing. The real motive can be established once we arrest the accused," said Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal. Sources claimed the way the murders took place was an indicator that the crimes might not have been committed merely for gain. "While Rashmita was shot once in her head from behind, Ashok was stabbed seven times. One usually witnesses such aggression and violence on someone when the killer wants to extract personal revenge," stated an officer.
