The job as a site supervisor at a construction site on Fern Road, near Subir Chaki’s house on Kankulia Road, possibly helped Vicky Halder to gather information on Chaki, investigators probing into the twin-murder-case said this on Saturday.
Vicky started the work in order to spend most of his time after duty with those who were aware of Chaki’s decision to sell off his ancestral house, the investigators said.
Over the last few months Vicky had met several youths in the area, including Raju, the sweeper who worked for the Chakis, trying to gather enough information about Chaki and details of his other properties in New Town and the one in Urbana, the residential complex behind Ruby Hospital off EM Bypass.
Only after he was certain that Chaki was a rich man who wanted to make more money by selling off his ancestral house did Vicky discuss the plan to rob him with Mithu Halder, his mother, officers said.
“The mother and son began zeroing in on Chaki gradually ever since it sank in that the house owner was a cash-rich man who would frequently visit the Kankulia Road house and did not stop short of spending money either on maintaining the three-storied house,” said a senior officer of Calcutta police’s detective department.
Investigators have learnt that Mithu would frequently meet Vicky near the construction site on Fern Road to exchange information about when Chaki would visit the house and who all would accompany him riding a white Mercedes Benz.
Vicky would not return to Diamond Harbour everyday and preferred spending most of the nights inside the under-construction housing complex.
In the evenings he would walk down to Kankulia Road or near the rail-gate to meet only those who could give him some information about Chaki and his ancestral property but shied away from meeting his two uncles who had bought flats on Jagannath Ghosh Road.
Investigators said since some of these youths were property-brokers they had knowledge about the house on sale on Kankulia Road and even about its owner.
Officers said Mithu and Vicky both had gathered information about Chaki’s family members, including his mother, had shifted to the New town apartment from the Kankulia Road address a year-and-a-half back and that Chaki's daughter was settled in Bangalore and his son in London.
“Following their interaction with Vicky, both Raju and another local youth Basu were convinced that he was all set to buy the property of the Chakis. They had started counting on the handsome amount they would receive in brokerage,” said Khokhon Halder, Vicky’s uncle. “We had no clue about how Vicky would arrange for such a huge amount.”
Officers believe Mithu had firmed up the plan to engage Vicky to rob Chaki and then murder him. She had discussed the plot with Vicky and began working on the blueprint since the pujas.
“In keeping with her plan, Mithu had begun inquiring with a few local youths, who lived close to her house in Diamond Harbour’s Naiyapara, about their jobs and earnings,” the officer said. “A few of them had told Mithu they were jobless since the pandemic and she had asked them to wait.”
Just ahead of the pujas, Mithu told a few of these youths that she had found a link and they would be required to work for her very soon.
The police believe at least three of these youths were engaged to be with Vicky when he went to meet Chaki at the house on Kankulia Road on Sunday evening.