Kolkata: Jealous over family’s love for child, sister-in-law drowns eight-year-old

KOLKATA: Eight-year-old Raju Das, a student of Class III, who was found dead inside a water drum last Saturday at his Paharpur Road residence in Garden Reach did not die in a freak accident as had been assumed earlier. It has now emerged that it was a planned murder by his sister-in-law Priyanka Das (19).

Priyanka was upset over the fact that the rest of the family loved the child more than they loved her and her husband.




The murder of Raju would never have been detected had it not been for the accused’s husband Subrata Das (22), who refused to believe that his brother could have drowned in just four feet of water. Earlier, cops had decided it was an accidental death based on circumstantial evidence and the post-mortem report.

Since Saturday, Subrata had been raising doubts over the incident. He even questioned the course of investigation and inquired of family members about the exact circumstances in which Raju died. Around late evening on Monday, Subrata began to have strong doubts about his wife Priyanka, who he had been married to for the past six months.

Priyanka had been married once earlier and was a divorcee. Subrata’s family had resisted her marriage with him initially. She is originally a resident of the Lake Market area.

“Priyanka had been making contradictory statements. When Subrata challenged her, she broke down before him and confessed her crime. Her husband did not think twice before handing her over to cops. In fact, he was the one who lodged the FIR,” an officer said.

Cops said during questioning, Priyanka claimed she was alone in a room adjacent to the bathroom and found Raju climbing on to the drum, something he did every day. “She told us that finding Raju inside the tub, she pulled the drum’s lid. She opened it several minutes later to ensure Raju was dead before returning to her room. She claimed that everyone in the family – including her husband – loved the child more than they loved her. She was afraid her father-in-law would favour Raju over Subrata,” he said.

Priyanka was taken to the murder spot later in the day and asked to re-enact the murder, Port police sources said.

The parents of the child — Dukhram and Dolly — said they never thought their younger son could have been murdered by a family member. “Raju was playing in the balcony all afternoon. We had locked the main door to ensure he does not go outside. I do not know when he came down and entered the drum. He was probably feeling hot. We had not registered any complaint assuming it to be an accident. Even cops told us that the post-mortem report revealed it was a case of simple drowning,” Dolly said.

Police said they had gone strictly by the autopsy report. “The neighbours had rushed him to CMRI Hospital where he was declared brought dead. No foul play could be detected as there was neither smothering nor forced drowning. The inquest had begun and we would have recorded the statements at a later time,” a Port division officer said. “However, the fact that the accused’s husband decided to take her to task has helped us crack the case,” he added “The accused’s family has been contacted to ascertain if there were other motives behind the murder other than one claimed by her,” the officer said.