Malda murders: Arms and ammunition seized, 2 more arrested

Malda (WB): The West Bengal Police on Sunday seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition and arrested two more persons in Malda district after interrogating Asif Mohammad, who had allegedly killed four members of his family and buried them in their house, police said.

The arrested persons, identified as 19-year-old Sabir Ali and 21-year-old Masum Sheikh of Gurutola village in Kaliachak police station area, claimed that they had kept the firearms in their respective houses as per the direction of Asif, a police officer said.

Five 7mm pistols, 80 cartridges and 10 magazines were seized, he said.

The three arrested persons will be produced before the Malda District Court during the day and police custody will be sought, the officer said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the murder accused's elder brother Arif Mohammad, police arrested 19-year-old Asif after exhuming four bodies from a room in their house in Gurutola village on Saturday.

Preliminary investigation suggests that Asif had spiked the cold drinks of his father Jawad Ali (50), mother Ira Bibi (45), sister Arifa Khatun (17) and grandmother Alekjan Bibi (75) with sleeping pills on February 28 and as they fell unconscious, he tied them up and drowned them in a reservoir before burying the bodies in the house.

The accused's elder brother managed to escape from the spot and changed locations for four months, before informing the police about the incident on Friday night.

Several electronic gadgets have been seized from the house and police are investigating all angles to ascertain the motive behind the murders.