GUWAHATI: Dispur police on Thursday detained Putu Das, wife of Beltola double murder case prime accused Akash Choudhury, for questioning. This is the fifth detention in the sensational case that Guwahati police say they are confident of solving soon after receiving relevant forensic reports.
On Wednesday, Guwahati Police Commissioner Harmeet Singh told reporters that investigators are confident of cracking the case after the recovery of detailed fingerprint and other forensic evidence. The Commissioner further clarified that there was no forcible entry into the residence of the murdered couple. Instead, the perpetrators had made their way inside by opening a back door with a key. A broken window that had led to initial speculation of a forced entry was in fact broken from the inside, the Commissioner said citing the presence of scuff marks on the window sill.
Choudhury’s fingerprints have been recovered from several places inside the house, the Commissioner added.
Meanwhile, police sources indicate Choudhury had initially tried to poison the couple before attacking them both on the head and later attempted to pass off the crime as a robbery.
Akash Choudhury was a trusted caretaker of Noni Gopal Baruah and Mina Baruah and lived in a separate outhouse on the couple’s property in Chandan Nagar of Beltola, Guwahati. There are unconfirmed reports that the crime had been committed to take over the elderly couple’s land.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the Baruah family and assured of a speedy investigation into the matter. Without revealing details, the CM told reporters that police have their suspicions and are waiting for corroboration from forensic reports.
The sensational murder of the Baruah couple happened sometime during the intervening night between Monday and Tuesday during an apparent robbery. The investigation remains ongoing and further details in the case are awaited.