Gujarati couple murder could have stock market links, likely executed by someone close: Kolkata Police

PTI, Jun 8, 2022, 8:47 AM IST

The murder of the Gujarati couple at their residence in south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur might have links to the stock market, and the killings could have been executed by someone close to them, police said. The couple had significant investments in the share market, they said.

”Circumstantial evidence indicates that those who came to their house were known to them and the woman might have opened the door. There is a deep injury on the shoulder of the woman, whose body was found lying near the entrance,” a senior police officer said.

Police are also trying to find if the couple had taken any loan to invest in the stock market, which might have a connection to the deaths, he said.

Businessman Ashok Shah and his wife Rashmita Shah were found dead at their flat in Harish Mukherjee Road. The couple is survived by three daughters.

The bodies were found on Monday evening, sparking tension in the area, which is considered to be a high-security zone because of its proximity to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence.

The post-mortem examination revealed that they were killed between noon and 3 pm on Monday, the officer said.

”We spotted the couple’s mobile phones this afternoon in the Esplanade area going by the tower location,” he said on Tuesday.

The officer had earlier said that two other mobile phones were seized from the house.

”It seems that more than one person carried out the killings. There is circumstantial evidence that a scuffle took place inside the flat. We are trying to understand whether the twin murders were because of gain or revenge,” he added.

As the two CCTVs located outside the Shah residence were found to be non-functional, police are depending on footage of other CCTVs in the area.

Gold ornaments worn by the deceased woman and several thousand rupees in cash have also gone missing from the house, the police officer said.