Two held in connection with Kolkata elderly couple’s murder

The couple was found murdered at their home less than a kilometre from chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Bhowanipore

Kolkata: Two people have been arrested in connection with an elderly couple’s murder at their home less than a kilometre from chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Bhowanipore, police said.

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Banerjee on Wednesday said personal enmity and a relative could be behind the murder of the Gujarati couple Ashok Shah, a businessman, and Reshmi. She added police have also learnt that the accused may have hired killers to commit the crime.

Banerjee, who was in north Bengal since Monday, returned to Kolkata on Wednesday and visited the family. “I am shocked. And it is not just me but the entire neighbourhood. I have grown up here. ...This is a very peaceful area and never in the past had such incidents taken place.”

The couple was found murdered on Monday evening. “Investigation is going on and all angles are being probed. CCTV footage...[is] being scanned. We are also collecting information from the locals and speaking with family members. There is an involvement of a person known to the family,” said Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal.

Police said they were certain that someone known to the family was behind the crime as they did not find any signs of scuffle or forced entry. As the couple was alone, they would not have allowed an unknown person inside. “Some property has been stolen. The amount was not huge though,” said Goyal.

Police said the couple invested significantly in the stock market and was also trying to sell their house. Some jewellery and cash, along with two mobile phones, were missing from the house. “The money and gold jewellery, which the woman was wearing, could have been stolen to make it look like a murder for gain,” said a police officer, adding that the mobile phones were found a few kilometres away.

A preliminary autopsy report has suggested while Reshmi was shot dead, Shah suffered multiple stab wounds.