Dispute over 20,000 loan may have led to senior citizen’s murder in Behala: Cops
Times of India | 21 January 2026
Kolkata: A dispute over Rs 20,000 might have led to the murder of singer and former Doordarshan employee Anita Ghosh, known as Buladi, at her residence in Behala Natunpara on Monday morning, investigators revealed on Tuesday.
According to the claims of the lone accused, her former ayah, Sanju Sarkar alias Tuli Sarkar, who was put under arrest on Monday evening, she visited Anita on earlier occasions too over her "pending" salary but the victim refused to pay the same.
The probe so far tells a different story. Sources claim that the accused Sanju, despite barely working for a few months at the Ghosh residence, might have been trying to borrow Rs 20,000 from Anita and was pressurising her for the same.
"There is a hint that the accused kept borrowing without returning. Even after the Ghosh family switched to the services of another ayah centre, dumping the services of Sanju's own agency, this ayah kept returning to the house to beg and borrow," said an officer. Cops said the probe so far ruled out the role of anyone else in this murder.
"The ayah was known to the family since the last several years, and went through an ayah centre. There was a demand of Rs 20,000, which led to the scuffle and incident," said an official of Behala division.
There is also a strong hint that the accused Sanju tried to carry out a recce of the house in her absence. "Last Sunday, Anita went to a picnic with her Thakurpukur college mates. There, she received a call from her present ayah saying a former ayah who worked for her came to meet her and was requesting access to her bathroom as it was an emergency. At the mention of the ayah, Anita got agitated and strictly instructed her ayah not to let anyone in," said a police source.
The cops produced the accused Sanju at the Alipore court, which sent her to police custody till Feb 1. "The accused sustained dive deep cut injuries on her person, possibly due to scuffling with the deceased. This helped us prove her direct role in the murder. We also produced four seizure lists, which include the knife used to commit the murder and several gold ornaments," said Alipore court public prosecutor Sourin Ghosal.
"During investigation, physical presence of the arrested accused lady is required for reconstruction of the scene of crime, to find out the modus operandi behind the case and for completion of the pending investigation of the case," the cops argued.
Meanwhile, the victim's son, Aritra Ghosh, requested cops to ascertain if anyone was involved in the crime. For this, he pointed to crucial CCTV footage that can be looked into, as it was put up in another apartment but focused on the main gate of Priyadarsini Apartments, where the incident took place.
The victim's body was brought to the house on Tuesday for cremation. Her son, residing in Joka, requested the present two ayahs, who received a police clean chit, to continue taking care of his bedridden father, Arup Kumar Ghosh, even as he shifted to this house, said neighbours. Cops sealed a bedroom and a bathroom of the house.