Property dispute ends in murder of DU professor
A couple from West Bengal travelled nearly 1,400 kilometres to Delhi with their minor child, checked into a guest house using fake identity credentials to avoid suspicion. The couple visited a Delhi University professor's flat, murdered her after she again refused to sell them her ancestral property in Bardhaman, and then fled back to Bengal the same evening on the Poorva Express. Delhi Police arrested all three from Bardhaman on Sunday after a five-day investigation involving CCTV analysis, technical surveillance, and a team that flew to West Bengal to trace them.
The victim, Debosmita Paul, 49, was an assistant professor at Shivaji College under Delhi University. Her body was found in her flat at Satyam Apartments in Vasundhara Enclave in East Delhi on June 4, after her sister Devarati Paul grew concerned when repeated calls went unanswered.
Devarati reached the apartment, found the door locked from the outside, broke it open, and discovered the body inside. There were no signs of forced entry or theft, which led investigators to conclude from the outset that the killers were known to the victim.
The arrested accused are Ramprashad Das, 42; his wife, Banashree Das, 36; and their minor son. According to police, the Das family had been residing in a property belonging to Paul in Bardhaman since 2023. The property had come to Paul through a family settlement. She had asked them to vacate repeatedly over the years. The dispute had continued without resolution until recently, when she issued a final warning to vacate. Investigators say this final warning triggered the decision to kill her.
The three travelled to Delhi on June 3 with a premeditated plan. To avoid being traced through their real identities, they checked into a guest house in Dallupura using Aadhaar credentials that did not belong to them. Police later identified the fake identities through guest house records and placed the mobile numbers associated with those credentials under surveillance, which proved crucial in tracking the family's movements.
They visited Paul's flat and murdered her after she refused once more to back down on the property. After killing her, they locked the apartment from the outside and left. They then made their way out of the building using both staircases and lifts, keeping their faces concealed. Investigators who later reviewed extensive CCTV footage from the housing complex and surrounding areas were able to track their movements step by step.
After leaving the building, the family took a taxi and an autorickshaw to reach Anand Vihar. From there, they proceeded to New Delhi Railway Station and boarded the Poorva Express at around 5:40 pm on June 3. They reached Bardhaman the following day.
Police examined CCTV footage from Bardhaman railway station to narrow down their location. A police team flew to West Bengal on June 6 and continued the ground search. On Sunday, June 7, the trio was located at their hideout and arrested.
From the accused, police recovered Paul's Samsung mobile phone, a razor allegedly used in the crime, clothing, a cap, a backpack, and train tickets. A case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers murder, has been registered. Further investigation is underway.
The case is methodical in its planning and brutal in its execution. A family that had been living rent-free in a disputed property for over two years, facing eviction after the owner's final warning, travelled the length of a country with a child in tow, used someone else's identity to book a room, killed the woman who owned the house, and caught the evening train home.
