United News of Bangladesh

Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das, two suspects arrested in connection with the killings of former schoolteacher Ganapati Chakraborty, his wife and their two children in Rangpur, have tested negative for drugs, with no trace of Yaba, cannabis or other banned drugs found in their urine samples. Deputy Commissioner (Detective Branch) of Rangpur Metropolitan Police Sonaton Chakroborty on Monday said the reports of the dope tests conducted on the two suspects came back negative. However, a medical expert said the samples were collected 10 days after the killings, making it difficult to determine whether the two had consumed drugs at the time of the incident. Meanwhile, a Rangpur court on Monday granted police permission to interrogate the duo for two days – three hours each day – at the jail gate. Judge of the Rangpur Metropolitan Magistrate Court-2 Rafiqul Islam passed the order after the investigating officer of the case filed over the murders, Jinnat Ali, sought a three-day remand for interrogation. Police said the two suspects, in their statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, claimed that they were in an agitated state and under the influence of drugs when the killings took place. Following a court order, doctors collected urine samples from Siddhartha and Mugdha at Rangpur Central Jail on August 30 in the presence of police. Laboratory tests later found no presence of Yaba, cannabis or any other prohibited substance in their bodies, according to the reports. Prof Dr Md Rashedul Haque, head of the Department of Biochemistry at Rangpur Medical College, said drug traces generally remain detectable in urine for several days, depending on the substance and other factors. “Testing should have been done earlier. A test within seven days could have provided a better indication of recent drug use,” he said. Rashedul, however, cautioned that a negative result after 10 days does not conclusively establish that the suspects were not drug users or had not consumed drugs at the time of the incident. Ganapati’s sister-in-law Puja Chakraborty questioned why the drug tests were not conducted earlier. She said such a test could have been conducted within one or two days of the incident and expressed concern over the reliability of a negative result obtained 10 days later. Detective Branch officials said the negative reports will not affect other aspects of the investigation. They said investigators are examining the accused persons’ statements, evidence collected from the crime scene and other information as part of the ongoing investigation. On August 22, the bodies of Ganapati, 65, a former teacher of Rangpur Zilla School, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty Bala, 50, daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 25, and son Ayush Chakraborty Priyam, 12, were recovered from their locked home in Machhuapara of Rangpur city. Police said all four were strangled to death. Police arrested Mugdha, 23, and Siddhartha, 19, from the same area the following day in connection with the killings. The two arrested suspects later gave confessional statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a court, while two witnesses, identified as Shimanto and Bidyut Das, also gave statements before the court.