A horrific incident of a young man killing four members of his own family and burying them in their house’s basement has sent shockwaves across Malda district. The four, including three women, were killed and buried four months ago allegedly by Asif Mohammad, 19, in Gurutola village under the Kaliachak police station.

The incident that sent shivers down the spine of residents there came to light only this morning when the police reached the house and recovered the remains of the bodies. The police acted on a complaint filed by the elder son in the family, Rahul Shaikh, only last night. According to the police, the man had murdered his family members on 28 February.

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“The accused used to demand huge amounts of money from his parents with which he bought electronic devices and gadgets. The deceased Jawad Ali was a wealthy trader and always fulfilled his son’s demands,” a local man said.

According to the police, during interrogation, the accused youth confessed to his crime and revealed that on 28 February he sedated his family members, including his elder brother, through soft drinks laced with sedatives. The accused then bound and gagged them and put them in coffins he had already prepared.

“There was a tunnel to the garage from the house through which the family members were taken to be buried in a grave that he had already dug. He placed the coffins in the grave, filled it with water, and after some time when the water level partially went down, he filled it with soil. The elder brother somehow managed to flee,” a source said.

“The police recovered the remains of the four bodies in the presence of a magistrate and sent them for a postmortem, while arresting the accused,” a source said. It is learnt that Mr Shaikh has also been detained by the police “as mystery shrouded his silence for four long months.”

However, police sources said that the elder man told them that he kept silent because his younger brother had threatened him with life. “The police have recovered a computer set, laptops, other electronic gadgets and a sum of over Rs 1 lakh from the house and have started a thorough investigation into the matter.

The motive is yet to be ascertained,” a police officer said. Malda Superintendent of Police Alok Rajoria reached the spot today with other top police officers of the district, while minister of state and Trinamul Congress leader Sabina Yeasmin also arrived at the spot. The deceased have been identified as Jawad Ali, 53, Ira Bibi, 46, Rima Khatun, 16 and Aleknur Bewa, 76.

The first two were parents of the accused youth, the third sister and the last his grandmother. According to local sources, Asif Mohammed is a class XI student at a local private school and Rahul Shaikh had been studying in a college in Kolkata. One of the uncles of the accused, Antony Shaikh, said, “Asif told us that the four family members had gone to Maharashtra and would be returning after four years. A few days ago he tried to sell the house and approached me, but I refused to buy it unless his father signed the documents. Then we talked to his elder brother in Kolkata over the phone and came to know about this horrific incident. Last night, Rahul came to Malda and filed the complaint with the police.”

Locals added that the accused youth, also known as Hannan, lived alone and did not mingle with the neighbors in the past four months. “He had made the house a fortress and monitored the movements outside through CCTV cameras. He did not allow anyone in the house for the last four months. He was also summoned by the police in March, but was released,” said one of the locals.

Minister Yeasmin said, “The incident is very shocking and I would ask the police to investigate the case deeply.” SP Rajoria said, “We will try to know the actual motive through interrogation. The role of the elder brother of the accused will also be under scanner. The police will plead to the court for custody of the accused youth.”