Kolkata, Feb. 19 -- Bodies of three females, including a minor, were found inside their home in Tangra, Kolkata, on Wednesday morning following a road accident involving three other family members, including a teenage boy.
The deceased persons were identified as Romi Dey, Sudeshna Dey, and a 15-year-old girl. Their bodies were found in separate rooms on the third floor of their four-storey residence.
The event unfolded at around 4 am on Wednesday when a car crashed into a Metro pillar near Abhishikta Crossing on the EM Bypass. Two men, identified as Pranay Dey and Prasun Dey, husbands of the two deceased women and a teenage boy were injured and taken to hospital. Upon questioning, one of the men informed the police about the bodies at their residence. He also claimed that the family had planned to die by suicide together. As the day progressed, the question as whether it was a case of suicide or murder came to be raised. Senior police officials, including Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rupesh Kumar, visited the scene. Officers from the homicide branch at Lalbazar, along with a dog squad, were deployed to assist in the probe.
The police confirmed that Romi and Sudeshna had deep cut injuries on their wrists and throats while the teenage girl had bruises on her lips and nasal region. Among the injured men, the teenager and one of the adults had wrist injuries but the third individual had no visible wounds. However, it remains unclear whether these injuries were sustained before or after the crash.
Authorities are now awaiting autopsy and viscera examination reports to determine the cause and timing of the deaths. "We cannot determine the cause and time of death until the post-mortem is complete," said CP Verma. "We need more information to plug the different loopholes. The post-mortem will be crucial and while the injured individuals have made claims, we cannot yet confirm their accuracy conclusively."
The injured men claimed they had consumed sleeping pills with their dinner on Tuesday night. According to their statement, after the three women died by suicide, they left in the car with the intention of taking their own lives as well. However, police are yet to establish the credibility of these claims.
Verma added: "It is difficult for us to confirm whether they left with the intention of suicide or with any other motive. We are not yet concluding if it was suicide, murder, or something else occurred. We have some facts and we need to verify if these align and corroborate with their statements. To determine whether this case is one of homicide or suicide, we will have to rely on the post-mortem report." The CP mentioned that it would take some time to reconstruct the entire incident as the other family members are injured and undergoing treatment at the hospital. Once they recover, they will be brought to the scene to show how the incident occurred.
Police said no suicide note was recovered from the scene. However, a few mobile phones have been recovered and their contents are being examined. A sharp knife has also been recovered, suspected to have been used to cut the veins in the wrists of the two women.
Locals mentioned that the Deys were involved in the tannery business and had lived in the locality for decades. Some claimed they had been facing a financial crisis in their business for some time. Investigators are verifying this claim. "We are also checking if they had their seatbelts fastened while driving, as they claimed they were on their way to commit suicide. Why would they put the seatbelts on?" an official questioned. Meanwhile, the family of one of the deceased women lodged a police complaint, prompting authorities to register a case of murder.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.