In a major development in the gruesome murder of four members of a Hindu family in Bangladesh’s Rangpur city, the Detective Branch detained the father and elder brother of Siddhartha Das, one of the two arrested suspects, for questioning on Saturday (29th August). Sidhartha Das’s father Binoy Das and elder brother Partho Das were released later the same day.
Bangladesh Police have arrested Siddharth Das’s father and brother.🚨🇧🇩
— Bangladeshi Hindus Community🚨🇧🇩 (@Hindubd49346) August 29, 2026
They were the first to say that police had destroyed evidence in the Ganapati murder case.
This raises serious questions about police involvement in the killing of Ganapati Chakraborty’s family in Rangpur. https://t.co/M9imZNPbCP pic.twitter.com/mHqqeFMkUT
The duo was questioned by the Detective Branch officials for around four hours before being released.
According to DB Rangpur deputy commissioner Sanatan Chakraborty, Partho and Binoy Das were asked repeatedly to appear before the Detective Branch for questioning; however, they allegedly did not comply. Subsequently, the DB officials detained the two from their house and took them to the Metropolitan Detective Branch.
“They were detained for questioning on Saturday afternoon and were released at about 11:00 pm after interrogation at the DB office. They were allowed to return home after signing bonds. We did not receive any significant new information from them. However, the information they provided will be verified. We may call them again if necessary,” the Bangladeshi media quoted DB Rangpur deputy commissioner Sanatan Chakraborty as saying.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Partho and Binoy Das said that they were questioned about the murder of Ganapati Chakraborty and his family. The father-son duo said that they had provided all the information to the police.
Meanwhile, questions have been raised over the police’s conduct in the entire investigation. The Das duo was reportedly the first to allege that the police were destroying evidence
Rangpur Hindu family murder and alleged police cover-up
On 22nd August 2026, the police recovered the decomposed bodies of four members of the same Hindu family from their two-storey house in the Kamalkashana-Machuapara area of Rangpur city. The victims were retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty Jewel, 65, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty, 50, their daughter Agami Chakraborty, around 25, and their 12-year-old son Priyam.
The bodies were found in different parts of the property. Ganapati’s body was found on the roof; the bodies of Pritilata and their daughter were found around the staircase, while Priyam’s body was found inside a room, under a bed.
Later, the police arrested two Hindu youths, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das, from the Machuapara area on Sunday night, 23rd August. Police identified them as residents and alleged that they were involved in the killings. According to police, both later gave confessional statements before Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court Judge Md Rafiqul Islam under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. They were subsequently sent to jail.
The police claimed that the two youths were consuming yaba (an illegal drug) on the roof of Ganapati’s house when the retired teacher confronted them. According to the police version, the confrontation escalated, and the family members were killed. Police have also suggested that the crime may initially have been connected to robbery or an attempt to make the incident look like a robbery.
However, local observers and human rights defenders strongly suspect that law enforcement is attempting to build a convenient narrative to quickly wrap up the case, cover up critical lapses, and shield the real perpetrators behind this heinous crime, which carries a communal angle similar to previous targeted attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus in recent years by Islamists.
Puja Chakraborty, the younger sister of slain Pritilata Chakraborty, has also rejected the police’s claims and alleged that it was a planned murder.
Suspicion deepened when photos of one of the arrested suspects went viral on social media. The shirt worn by the detainee during his presentation to the media appeared virtually identical to a shirt frequently worn by a senior police officer in Rangpur, leading the public to question how an officer’s clothing ended up on an accused person. The police official, however, denied this claim.
Siddhartha Das’s father openly challenged the police version
However, Binoy Das, the arrested accused Siddhartha Das’s father, openly challenged the official version of events. He said, “On late Saturday night, a large crowd including the police gathered at Ganapati’s house. Later, late that night around dawn, police came to my house looking for Siddhartha. I woke him up from his uncle’s house and handed him over to the police. He was wearing a T-shirt at the time. But later, when the police took him before the journalists, I saw him wearing a shirt. Whose shirt is that? I have never seen him wear that kind of shirt before.”
The family of the arrested Hindu youth wept before cameras, asserting that their sons were being framed as convenient scapegoats to protect influential figures. The accused’s family revealed that officers altered the crime scene, saying that the house was washed and cleaned under police supervision, effectively destroying critical forensic evidence.
Now the police detained and questioned Binoy Das and his son Partho Das for questioning. Although the detained duo have been released, the gruesome manner of the Hindu family’s killing and the police action in the matter so far have fuelled suspicion about an alleged cover-up to shield the real killers by making Mugdha and Siddhartha Das scapegoats.
