Another man held in Kasba suicide case

Kolkata: The police arrested another loan recovery agent in connection with the suicide of a couple who ended their lives after killing their three-year-old son in the Haltu area of Kolkata’s Kasba.

The accused, Somsubhra Mondal (24), a resident of Subhash Gram, Natun Pally, under Sonarpur Police Station in South 24-Parganas, was taken into custody late Friday night.

This arrest follows the apprehension of Chanchal Mukhopadhyay, another alleged loan agent, who reportedly assisted the deceased auto-rickshaw driver, Somnath Roy (40), in securing loans totaling Rs 10 lakh from a nationalised bank for a commission.

During Mondal’s interrogation, police discovered he also assisted Roy in getting multiple loans from various lending platforms, including a private bank, amounting to over Rs 10 lakh in exchange for a commission. Specifically, he facilitated loans of Rs 5 lakh from a bank, Rs 1.62 lakh from a loan provider, Rs 2 lakh from a digital lending App, and Rs 2 lakh from a financial services company.

On March 4, Roy and his wife Sumitra (35) were found hanging from the ceiling in their home. Their three-year-old son, Rudranil, was found dead, tied to his father’s body. Police reported that as per the verbal opinion of the autopsy surgeon, the couple had committed suicide while the cause of death of the minor boy was asphyxia.

During the investigation, a suicide note, written in pencil on the walls of Roy’s home, was discovered. The note detailed financial distress and a long-standing property dispute with his maternal uncle and aunt, who were previously arrested on charges of abetment to suicide.

The note also blamed unidentified creditors.