Two arrested over Gujarati couple's murder in Kolkata

Financial dispute behind the incident, say police

Two "close relatives" of a murdered Gujarati couple were arrested on Thursday, June 9, 2022, for their alleged involvement in the killings in Kolkata's high-security Bhowanipore area, a senior police officer said.

The duo was picked up from an undisclosed location in the city suburbs on Wednesday night and arrested on Thursday morning after night-long grilling, he said.

"After scrutinising CCTV footage and speaking to kin of the murdered couple, we have arrested two people. Apart from this duo, three-four more people are suspected to be behind the killings, including the mastermind who is understood to be a close relative of the deceased. Hopefully, we will arrest them soon," the officer said.

Asked about the motive behind the murder, he said there was definitely a "financial dispute" involved.

"Although the actual dispute is yet to be ascertained, an investigation has revealed the murder was planned in the last 7-10 days. It seems a contract killer was hired for the murders," he said.

Businessman Ashok Shah and his wife Rashmita were found dead in their flat on Harish Mukherjee Road, an area considered to be a high-security zone because of its proximity to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence.

The post-mortem revealed that they were killed between noon and 3 pm on Monday.