Dhaka, Aug 31 (IANS) The dope tests of two accused in the case involving the deaths of four members of a Hindu family in Bangladesh's Rangpur returned negative amid mounting scrutiny over the investigation by Bangladesh police into the murder case, local media reported on Monday.
There was no evidence of drug use found in their blood or urine samples, according to the test results, Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo reported.
Rangpur Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) Deputy Commissioner Sanatan Chakraborty confirmed the development on Monday afternoon, saying the tests detected no signs of drug use.
The samples of the accused, 23-year-old Mugdha Das and 19-year-old Siddharth Das, both currently held in Rangpur Central Jail, were collected on Sunday following court approval for their dope tests.
“We received the dope-test report of Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das at around 2:30 pm today. The report states that no traces of drugs were found in their bodies,” Rangpur Metropolitan DB Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanatan Chakraborty told Prothom Alo.
The negative dope test results have raised fresh questions over the credibility of the police’s initial findings surrounding the motive behind the killings.
Last week, a leading human rights organisation cast doubt on the Bangladeshi police’s preliminary account surrounding the gruesome killings of the Hindu family in Rangpur city, citing discrepancies between the official version and information provided by the victims’ relatives, and various media reports, local media reported.
Dhaka-based rights body 'Ain o Salish Kendra' (ASK) made the observations in a press release issued after a two-member fact-finding team from the organisation visited Rangpur on August 24–25, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.
The incident occurred on August 20, with police recovering the bodies of all four family members two days later, on the night of August 22.
The deceased were identified as retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, 65; his wife, Pritilata Chakraborty, 50; their daughter, Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23; and their son, Priyam Chakraborty, 12.
Bangladesh police on August 24 arrested the two young men in connection with the killing of the retired Hindu schoolteacher and three members of his family in Rangpur city.
Police said the duo planned and carried out the murders after the former Rangpur Zilla school teacher tried to prevent them from using yaba, a potent illicit methamphetamine-based drug, on the rooftop, according to local media reports.
Calling the killing of four family members an “extremely brutal incident”, ASK said the case had raised serious public concern. It urged a comprehensive and impartial probe to establish the motive, sequence of events and identities of all those involved.
Highlighting gaps between the police’s preliminary explanation and accounts from the victims’ relatives, local residents and the media, the rights body stressed that these questions must be addressed through a scientific analysis of physical, digital and forensic evidence, Dhaka Tribune reported.
--IANS
scor/ksk/as
