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In Dizzying Turn, Bhopal Man Who Killed And Buried Girlfriend Had Also Strangled Parents To Death

He had packed his girlfriend's body in a suitcase and poured concrete over it.
Crime Scene Investigation
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Crime Scene Investigation

BHOPAL — A large crowd of horrified onlookers gathered around as police brought in heavy machinery to locate and dig up the remains of an elderly couple who were brutally murdered and buried in concrete in the compound of their house in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

As a man's belt and a woman's ornaments were dug out of the concrete mound, it was almost certain that Udayan Das, who had allegedly killed his girlfriend last year and buried her in a platform on the first floor of his house in Bhopal, had also killed his parents nearly six years ago the same way in this house.

As police of three states — West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — zeroed in on Das, a diabolical murder plot gradually emerged.

The lawn in the compound of the Raipur house, which was sold by Das a few years ago, was dug for hours on Sunday and finally the remains of his parents were recovered.

Das, 32, told police that he had killed his parents and buried them in the Sundar Nagar house. On Sunday, the excavation began in the presence of police officials of Raipur and Bhopal.

As initially labourers, and later machines were called in for the digging, ornaments that were on his mother's body were found, apart from some clothes and his father's belt.

Later, the skulls and other remains were found at a depth of more than eight feet. The current owner of the house said he had no inkling that two persons were murdered and buried in the compound.

According to the local papers in West Bengal, Das, who often pressured his parents for money, knew that his father was out shopping for vegetables, when he strangled his mother to death. When his father returned from the market, he offered him a cup of tea laced with sedatives and killed him the same way, reported the Anandabazar Patrika. He paid Rs 500 to a labourer working at his house at that time to borrow equipment to dig a six-feet grave.

Das told the police he had killed his parents in 2010-11.

Surprisingly, no one suspected foul play for six years. Police say that it was because the family didn't interact much with people.

After killing his parents, Das had sold the Raipur house with the help of a friend and a broker.

His mother Indrani was not on talking terms with her Bhopal-based sister for over a decade. Hence, Das' aunt also didn't take any interest in knowing about the whereabouts of the family.

Das, who had shifted back to Bhopal and lived in a house in Saket Nagar, didn't talk much with the local residents. To those who asked, he said that his father, PK Das, had died and his mother, Indrani Das, was in USA.

He had reportedly obtained a forged death certificate of his mother when he sold the Raipur house. The police are also investigating as to how he managed to take out the family pension from the joint account.

The Raipur police are going to register a case of murder against him. DNA tests would be conducted to ascertain the identities of his victims. The West Bengal police are already investigating the case of Akanksha alias Shweta, 28, who was killed by him and buried in his Bhopal house.

He had reportedly obtained a forged death certificate of his mother when he sold the Raipur house. The police are also investigating as to how he managed to take out the family pension from the joint account.

Akanksha, who hailed from Bankura (WB), had come to Bhopal to stay with Das who owned luxury cars and led a lavish lifestyle. The relationship soured when Akanksha repeatedly pressed him to get married. He got angry and decided to 'eliminate' her.

After strangulating her, he placed her body in an iron trunk, filled it with cement, and later constructed a platform over it.

On the complaint of the girl's family members who suspected that she was in Bhopal, a team from West Bengal police traced her to Udayan, and after further questioning him, found out where the body was buried. On dismantling the platform, they found her body almost mummified in cement.

"It chills me to the bones that he even slept on the same bed with our son Ayush."

"He's a cold blooded killer," Akanksha's father told the paper. For two days they remained holed up in their apartment as neighbours gather outside their house after news leaked of the death of their daughter.

They recalled the time when Udayan had visited their house in Bankura and spent two nights there. "It chills me to the bones that he even slept on the same bed with our son Ayush," Akanksha's father Shibendra Sharma told the paper.

Akanksha's brother had come to Bhopal and the last rites were performed here on Saturday. Meanwhile, police grew suspicious about the whereabouts of his parents, especially, the mother, as no one had seen them for years.

SP Bhopal Sidharth Bahuguna told the media that during interrogation, Das had confessed to killing his parents and burying them in the house in Raipur.

He told the police that his parents had stopped giving him money and asked him to find job. They also scolded him for his alcoholism. This made him want to kill them.

"He is a very sharp person who committed each murder with proper planning and hence the crimes remained concealed for long. Sustained interrogation led to these revelations. We have to interrogate him further to find out information about the missing links", said a police officer who is part of investigating team.

"Udayan is being questioned", he said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.