Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 19 JAN: Barely days after lighting the funeral pyre of his wife, a 75-year-old man allegedly turned an axe on his own family, hacking his daughter-in-law and her mother to death inside their Ranaghat home on Monday morning, leaving a village in Nadia struggling to comprehend the violence that unfolded behind closed doors.
The double murder took place at Ashutoshpur village under the Habibpur gram panchayat area of Ranaghat police station. The accused has been identified as Ananta Biswas (75), who was detained by police shortly after the incident. A bloodstained axe, believed to have been used in the crime, was recovered from the house.
The victims were identified as Shilpa Biswas (24) and her mother Swapna Mandal (56). Swapna had come to her daughter’s matrimonial home to attend post-death rituals following the recent demise of Ananta’s wife.
According to police and local sources, Ananta Biswas had grown increasingly suspicious after his wife’s death and allegedly blamed his daughter-in-law and her mother for it. He reportedly believed that the two women had practised witchcraft or black magic to harm his wife and seize family property.
On Monday morning, Ananta’s son Patitpaban Biswas had gone to the local market to sell flowers, leaving his wife and mother-in-law asleep at home. Police said the elderly man allegedly picked up an axe kept for cutting wood and attacked the two women while they were asleep. Both sustained multiple injuries and died on the spot.
Patitpaban returned to the house to find his wife and mother-in-law lying in pools of blood. When he confronted his father, the accused allegedly responded with chilling calm, telling him that he had “removed the thorns” from his path.
The young man’s screams drew neighbours to the spot, who alerted the police. Officers from Ranaghat police station reached the house, recovered the bodies and sent them for post-mortem examination.
A local panchayat member said there had been no prior history of open conflict within the family, but noted that Ananta had appeared mentally disturbed since his wife’s death. “It seems to be a case of blind superstition mixed with suspicion over property,” the panchayat member said.
Police said a case of murder has been registered and the accused’s mental condition is also being assessed as part of the investigation. Forensic and post-mortem reports are awaited.
Meanwhile, Patitpaban Biswas has demanded the strictest punishment for his father, stating that no superstition or personal belief could justify the killing of two innocent women.
The incident has once again cast a harsh light on the deadly consequences of superstition and unresolved family tensions in rural Bengal.
