The accused have been identified as 42-year-old Ramprashad Das, and his 36-year-old wife, Banashree Das—residents of Kalna Road, Burdwan.
This property was allotted to the victim through a family settlement.
“The deceased had been repeatedly asking the accused to vacate the premises, leading to an ongoing property dispute,” said the officer.
Following a final warning by Devosmita to vacate the property, the accused allegedly hatched a plan to “eliminate her”, and travelled to Delhi, the officer added.
On Saturday, a police team travelled to Burdwan and continued the CCTV trail.
The accused have been identified as 42-year-old Ramprashad Das, and his 36-year-old wife, Banashree Das—residents of Kalna Road, Burdwan. He has studied up to Class 10 and runs a sanitary shop in the locality. The police are also looking into Ramprashad’s previous criminal record. Banashree is a BA graduate and a homemaker. The third accused is their minor son.
Devosmita Paul, an assistant professor in the English department at the Shivaji College, was found dead Thursday.
New Delhi: Days after a Delhi University professor was found dead at her residence in east Delhi, the police have arrested a couple and apprehended their minor son in connection with her murder, having tracked the family all the way down to Burdwan, West Bengal.
A senior police officer involved in the probe said that it was revealed by the accused upon arrest that the family had been residing at the victim’s ancestral property in Burdwan since 2023. This property was allotted to the victim through a family settlement. “The deceased had been repeatedly asking the accused to vacate the premises, leading to an ongoing property dispute,” said the officer.
Following a final warning by Devosmita to vacate the property, the accused allegedly hatched a plan to “eliminate her”, and travelled to Delhi, the officer added.
Masked faces, fake Aadhaar IDs
On Thursday, at around 2.35 pm, a PCR call was received at New Ashok Nagar from a woman, who said that her sister had been murdered and that her body was found lying inside her flat at Satyam Apartments in Vasundhara Enclave. The woman on the phone was identified as Devarati Paul, sister of the deceased.
Devosmita lived by herself at the Vasundhara Enclave residence. Her sister told the police that the house had been locked from outside since that morning and that Devosmita had not been responding to any phone calls.
The police team that rushed to the spot found the victim on a bed with severe head injuries. Preliminary investigation suggested that she had been attacked with a blunt object. The police found injuries on her wrists, which indicated that a sharp-edged weapon had been used.
Police began with looking into CCTV camera footage and questioning people who knew Devosmita. Intensive CCTV analysis at and around the scene of crime by the East District team showed three masked suspects moving through the building via both stairs and lifts, changing clothes, and keeping their faces covered throughout .
The couple had travelled to Delhi Wednesday, the police found. They arrived at the location in a private taxi on the pretext of meeting her. They came with bags, and even brought their son along, to avoid suspicion, according to the probe.
After allegedly committing the offence, the accused hired a taxi and an auto rickshaw to flee from the scene. Police said they travelled via Anand Vihar to New Delhi Railway Station, and boarded the Poorva Express at approximately 5.40 pm on 3 June, and reached Burdwan on 4 June.
Further technical and CCTV analysis helped establish that the accused had stayed briefly at a guest house in Dallupura, Delhi, Wednesday, before going to Devosmita’s house.
At least five police teams were working to trace the accused, analysing around 100-150 CCTV cameras.
At the guest house, two Aadhaar cards with the names of one Satish, resident of Nawada, Bihar, and one Soma Chaudhary, resident of Burdwan, West Bengal, were found in the records, said an officer.
He added that the mobile numbers linked to these identities were placed under electronic surveillance, after which it was found that the accused had used Aadhaar credentials of unrelated persons in an attempt to evade detection.
On Saturday, a police team travelled to Burdwan and continued the CCTV trail. Footage showed the family deboarding the Poorva Express and leaving Burdwan Railway Station. The trail eventually led the police to their hideout.
On Sunday, the three were produced before the concerned court for transit remand and are being brought to Delhi for further investigation, said the police officer.
The police have recovered a Samsung mobile phone belonging to the victim, along with a razor (ustara) allegedly used to cut the victim’s wrists, and a back-pack. Along with train tickets and related travel documents, they have also recovered the clothes and cap the accused were allegedly wearing while committing the crime.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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