Kolkata: Cops probing the murder of 75-year-old retired central govt employee Samir Kishore Gupta at his Golf Green home, in which his son-in-law was arrested on Saturday, suspect it was a planned murder to acquire his property.
He confessed before cops that he pushed the man twice off the staircase to ensure his death.
Cops said they were also probing the role of Gupta's daughter while stating that she was present at home at the time of the crime, but cops are yet to arrest her.
"The murder occurred sometime after 6.30 pm on Friday. Accused Sanjit Das dragged Gupta from his bed and pushed him down the staircase, causing him to sustain bleeding head injuries.
He then carried Gupta back to his bed. Subsequently, Sanjit again lifted the victim on his lap and pushed him down the staircase towards the landing. Sanjit and his wife Soumashree then returned to their home," said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
Gupta's body was found near the stairs on the second floor of his two-storey house with multiple injuries on Saturday morning after his wife raised an alarm and called neighbours home.
Police received a call around 10.10 am after Gupta's wife, Jayashree (70), residing on the ground floor, raised an alarm when her husband did not bring her morning tea and biscuits.
Gupta retired from the Accountant General's office in Bengal in 2007. He lived at the same address with his wife and son Sujay Gupta (26). Sujay was found unconscious under a cot in the first-floor room and admitted to MR Bangur Hospital.
Cops revealed that about 20 days ago, Gupta's daughter Soumashree (28) married Das, a marble craftsman from Prince Gholam Mohammad Shah Road, against their family's wishes.
"Since then, the couple regularly visited Gupta's residence. On Sept 12, around 2 pm, Soumashree prepared food for the family. Around 6.30 pm, an argument broke out between Gupta and his daughter. Both daughter and son-in-law were present during the quarrel," said the officer.
Locals stated that Das started working as a mason in the Gupta household before marrying Soumashree.
Police said they were reconstructing sequence of events leading to Gupta's death and were planning to corroborate Das's confession with physical evidence.