E-Paper
Kolkata company executive, driver found murdered
A senior corporate executive and his driver were found murdered inside the former’s three-storey ancestral house at Kankulia road in Gariahat police station area of south Kolkata on Monday morning, police said
A senior corporate executive and his driver were found murdered inside the former’s three-storey ancestral house at Kankulia road in Gariahat police station area of south Kolkata on Monday morning, police said.
The bodies of 61-year-old Subir Chaki, managing director of Kilburn Engineering Ltd, and his 64-year-old driver, Rabin Mondal, were found with multiple injuries on the first and second floor of the house, respectively.
According to police, local residents of Kankulia road said that Chaki, who lived in New Town on the eastern outskirts of the city, was trying to sell his ancestral house for quite some time. The businessman already owned another property at a posh south Kolkata condominium, they added.
Police suspect Chaki must have gone to his ancestral house to meet a prospective buyer or collect an advance payment over a deal with a buyer when the incident took place on Sunday evening.
“Nobody lived on the upper floors of the house. There was nothing valuable kept that might have led to a robbery. The ground floor was rented out to a private company. Its office was closed on Sunday. When the employees reported for duty on Monday morning, they found the door connecting the ground and first floors shut from inside which was unusual,” an officer from Gariahat police station said on condition of anonymity.
“Both were stabbed multiple times, including on the wrists and ankles. The blows somehow appeared to be random, not something a trained killer might have inflicted. Their mobile phones were also missing. The service providers have been asked to generate the call lists. Chaki’s bank accounts are also being checked,” a second officer who did not wish to be named said.
“It seems that the accused knew that Chaki was coming to his Kankulia road home. On earlier occasions, he would send his driver with the keys when prospective buyers wanted to see the property. It is possible that Chaki might have come to collect some payment in cash. Local residents said they heard several people talking inside the house on Sunday evening. They also claimed to have heard a woman’s voice. These claims are being verified,” the officer added.
The businessman’s car was found outside the building with several food packets in the back seat.
An alumnus of St Xavier’s School in Kolkata, IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Calcutta, Chaki worked with several top firms. “His son and daughter live in London and Mumbai, respectively,” the second officer cited above said.
Dilip Mondal, the son of the driver, said: “My father worked for Chaki for more than 20 years. He used to come home only once a month. My father was treated well by his employer. We have no idea what happened.”
Chaki used to live in the New Town apartment with his wife, mother and mother-in-law.
The bodies were sent for post-mortem and later handed over to the families while a team of forensic experts collected samples from the scene of crime.
A murder case was registered by Gariahat police but the investigation was taken over by the detective department of Kolkata Police on Monday afternoon.
