A 53-year-old trader and his 23-year-old autistic daughter were found dead in their rented flat in Behala’s Shakuntala Park on Friday night. Police suspect a murder-suicide, suggesting that the father, Sajan Das, may have killed his daughter Srija before taking his own life. The bodies of Das and Srija were discovered hanging from the ceiling fan, facing each other. No suicide note was recovered from the scene. Das had expressed despair over his daughter’s autism in the past, police sources told the Times of India. Das, who ran a business selling and repairing water purifiers and chimneys, had moved to the flat on Foota Road three years ago. He primarily lived with his in-laws in Maheshtala but used the flat for his business. He is survived by his wife, Jolly Ghosh Das, and a nine-year-old son.
Relatives told police that Das had been struggling to cope with his daughter’s autism. He had taken Srija to numerous doctors and hospitals across the country, but her condition saw little improvement.Srija reportedly suffered from autism since birth. “Das took his daughter to SSKM regularly. He also took her to Chennai, Vellore, and Delhi. On multiple occasions in the past three years, he said he was left with no other option but to end his life with his daughter," Achintya Ghosh, a relative, told TOI. Police is probbing a case of murder-suicide as preliminary post-mortem reports revealed no external injuries on either body, indicating a possible case of asphyxiation by hanging.
“Post-mortem has revealed that there was no external or internal injury on the bodies of the deceased persons except non-continuous ligature marks. Deaths were due to the effect of hanging. The manner of deaths are thus suicidal," said Joint CP (crime & traffic) Rupesh Kumar. Police are also investigating Das’s financial and personal life for any potential motives. Investigators are aware of the financial burden Srija’s treatment placed on the family. Neighbours described Das as a quiet man who was devoted to his daughter. Anita Chatterjee, a neighbour, recounted seeing him and Srija shortly before the incident. “I asked him why he brought his daughter on a day he asked his other employees not to report to the office. He said he wanted to keep her close to him," said Chatterjee.
The incident came to light when a relative, Partha Das, alerted authorities after being unable to reach the family. Police arrived at the flat around 8:10 pm to discover the bodies.Das’s wife, Jolly, told police that her husband had left with Srija on February 28 for a supposed doctor’s appointment at SSKM Hospital. However, police investigations revealed discrepancies in Das’ account.
The incident took place after three members of the Dey family – two women and a teenage girl – were discovered dead in their Tangra residence in February 19. On the same day, a car crash on the Eastern Metropolitan bypass in southern Kolkata resulted in injuries to three other family members, including two brothers and one of their sons.Police pointed to two brothers from the family as the sole perpetrators of the crime. These two men, Prasun De and Pranay Dey, being biological brothers, are suspected of murdering their wives and the daughter of one of them on the morning of February 19, before going out to commit suicide.