Malda murders: Cops recreate crime scene; charge sheet soon

Malda: Police on Tuesday reconstructed the crime scene at the Kaliachak residence of Asif Mohammad where the 19-year-old school dropout drugged and drowned four of his family members on February 28, allegedly for property, and then hid the bodies in the basement for four months.
Both Asif and his elder brother Arif Mohammad, whose statement helped cops unearth the grisly murders last Friday, were taken to the house as mannequins for victims, plywood boards for the improvised water reservoirs and other paraphernalia were used to help investigators understand what happened on that fateful night.
“Asif has shown us where he drugged his family members and how he drowned them in improvised water reservoirs. Doubts had to be cleared on how he made trenches to bury the bodies. We also figured out how his elder brother, Arif, managed to escape,” Malda SP Alok Rajoria said. He said they were “confident” of cracking the case. “We will soon submit our charge sheet to begin custody trial,” he added. The SP, however, was tight-lipped about details.
On why the teenager had so many gadgets, sources said Asif used them to snoop on Arif and Arif’s girlfriend. He apparently made smut videos of the couple and blackmailed his brother into silence about the murders. Arif will be taken to court and his statement recorded under Section 164 of CrPC. Asif’s gadgets will, meanwhile, face detailed forensic examination to explore his activities on the dark web.
A separate case of arms recovery has been registered against Asif’s two friends. He had procured arms worth Rs 20 lakh and asked his friends to stash them for him. Police suspect a relative of Asif in Jharkhand may have helped him in the arms deal. Oddly enough, Arif had taken shelter at this same relative’s home. “We are looking for the source of these arms and figuring out why Asif had procured them,” the SP said, but ruled out the teenager’s possible involvement with a terror group.