A retired Hindu school teacher along with his wife and two children were allegedly killed at their residence in Bangladesh’s Rangpur city, according to a media report. The deceased were identified as Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, Pritilata Chakraborty, 50, Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23, and Priyam Chakraborty, 12, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

The bodies were retrieved at approximately 11:30 pm on Saturday from a dwelling in the Daspara (Machhuapara) locality of the city. Nazmul Kader, officer-in-charge of Rangpur Metropolitan Kotwali Police Station, said police recovered the bodies after entering the locked house, The Daily Star reported.

The police have detained two men, identified as Mughdho and Siddhartha, for their involvement in the killings. They are cousins.

The duo allegedly entered the rooftop of Chakraborty’s house through a neighbouring building and took the drug yaba there on Thursday night, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud said in a media briefing on Sunday.

According to the official, Ganapati Chakraborty went to the roof top after hearing noises and questioned the two men about their presence there.

To avoid being exposed, the suspects strangled him with a gamchha (thin cotton towel) he had been carrying on his shoulder, police said. Hearing the noise, his wife went upstairs.

The suspects allegedly strangled her with a piece of cloth on the staircase, the official said. The couple’s daughter and son were also killed during the incident, police said.

The police said the family had no known disputes or enmity with anyone.

Meanwhile, according to residents, Ganapati had retired from Rangpur Zilla School on December 31 last year. His daughter, Agami, completed her Master’s degree in English this year, while his son Priyam was a Class 5 student.

Relatives stated that anxiety grew after they lost communication with the family. Puja Chakraborty, Pritilata’s younger sister, told The Daily Star that she had last spoken to her sister on Thursday afternoon. All four mobile phones operated by the family members were reportedly turned off starting Thursday night.

“We came to Daspara on Saturday night after finding their phones switched off. The main gate of the house was locked, and all the lights inside were off. Police later arrived, broke the lock and entered the house, where they recovered the bodies,” she said.

Puja expressed shock, stating the family could not comprehend who would target the four individuals or what could have motivated the crime.

“I cannot understand who killed my sister and her entire family, or why and when it happened. My sister’s husband was a very good man. He had no enemies. They had built a new house in Daspara and were living there.”

Soma Chakraborty, Ganapati’s niece, similarly noted that her last contact with her uncle was on Thursday afternoon, after which she rushed to the residence upon hearing news of the fatalities on Saturday night.

“After receiving the news on Saturday night, I came here and saw his body. The bodies of my aunt, sister and brother were also lying there. My uncle had no enemies. After retiring from school, he started working as a homoeopathic practitioner,” she said.

Law enforcement officers and forensic units have initiated a probe into the fatalities. OC Nazmul Kader said police, the Criminal Investigation Department and the Detective Branch had launched an investigation into the incident.

Subir Choudhury, in-charge of Rangpur Metropolitan CID, provided details about where the bodies were discovered inside the house. He told The Daily Star that the bodies of the mother and daughter were recovered from the staircase, while Ganapati’s body was found on the roof.

The precise timeline, underlying motives, and sequence of events surrounding the deaths remain under investigation as forensic experts and law enforcement agencies gather evidence from the scene.

With inputs from PTI, ANI