12 Kolkata: Prasun Dey, the younger of the Dey brothers from Tangra, told the advocate appointed on his behalf by the state that he neither wanted a legal representation nor did he wish to argue his case as he "chose to die a legal death".
Prasun, arrested on Monday, was presented in Sealdah court on Tuesday. The police requested for four-day custody but Judge Arijit Mandal granted custody for two days. In court, the legal aid advocate said, "He (Prasun) does not want to hire a lawyer. He is not signing the vakalatnama and says he wishes to choose the path of death with the law's intervention once the charge sheet is filed." Judge Mandal then ordered the accused to be brought into the courtroom. When Prasun stood in the dock, the judge asked, "Will you hire a lawyer?" Prasun shook his head and said, "No."
The judge asked again, "Even if it's free, you still won't hire one?" Prasun again shook his head, to indicate a "no". The judge further asked, "Do you have anything to say?" Prasun replied, "No." Judge Mandal told Prasun, "You are being sought for police custody, do you understand what PC means? You will not be sent to jail but will have to stay with them. Do you have anything to say about this?" Prasun shook his head sideways.
Sourav Bandyopadhyay, chief of the Legal Aid Defence Council Service, South 24 Parganas, on Tuesday moved a bail plea for Dey that was turned down by the court. "The case came to us on Tuesday following a directive from the court," Bandyopadhyay said.
During the interrogation at Tangra police station, Prasun, who had confessed to murdering his wife, daughter and sister-in-law by slitting their wrists and throats, said his wife, Romi, had pinned down their daughter Priyamvada's legs as he smothered the girl, still in slumber after consuming the sedative-laced payesh that the entire family had eaten, with a pillow. Subsequently, Prasun said, he killed Romi and his brother Pranay's wife Sudeshna. Later, he brought his nephew Pratip to Priyamvada's room and tried to slash his wrist as well. The bodies of the three women were found on Feb 19, a day after the deaths.
Prasun said he later cut his own wrist, took some medication to kill himself but fell asleep. He woke up only around afternoon on Feb 18. That night, he left with Pranay and Pratip in a car, which crashed into a pillar on EM Bypass after 3 am on Feb 19. Pranay and Prasun claimed it was a suicide bid.
The Dey brothers had said a debt of Rs 16 crore plus Rs 47-lakh car loan had led them to plan the suicide pact. They had claimed their wives had agreed to their plan though their children were unaware of it.
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