Elderly professor couple found murdered in flat

The couple’s daughter, who is working in the United States, has been informed about the incident, police said.

An elderly couple, both retired professors, were found murdered in their apartment at Paikpara in north Kolkata on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Pran Gobinda Das (78) and his wife Renuka Das (75) were initially hit on the head with a blunt instrument, police said, adding that while the body of Pran was found on the floor of their living room with multiple injury marks on the face and head, his wife’s was lying on the bed with the throat slit.

The two lived at Indralok Apartments. While the police suspect robbery as the motive behind the killing and the maid’s role in it, they are not ruling out other angles.

[related-post]

Story continues below this ad

A blood-stained knife was found on the dining table but no blunt weapon was found inside the flat, an officer said, adding that an almirah in the living room was broken and household materials scattered all over the place.

The incident came to the notice this morning when a nurse, who has been visiting the family for quite some time, found the door of the flat locked from outside. Officers of the Chitpore police station were subsequently informed.

“Going by the preliminary investigation, it seems that the two were murdered Wednesday night. Though the motive behind the murder is yet not clear, we suspect it to be a case of loot. And we believe the murderer or the murderers were known to them,” said Subhankar Sinha Sarkar, DC (north).

According to the police, the couple’s maid, a prime suspect in the case and who was last seen leaving the flat by the neighbours around 9.30 pm Wednesday, is missing along with his wife.

Story continues below this ad

The couple’s daughter, who is working in the United States, has been informed about the incident, police said.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram