By IANS,
Agartala/Kolkata : Police forces from three states may probe the murders in Kolkata of a prominent Hindu priestess and one of her associates, allegedly by an expelled devotee, the police have said.
“The police from three eastern Indian states – West Bengal, Tripura and Assam – may jointly probe the murders of Sanghita Devi and her associate Dulu Datta in Kolkata Wednesday night,” a senior police official said in Agartala said Thursday.
According to sources, Kalipada Das, the alleged attacker, who later died of injuries, hailed from Silchar in Assam.
Sangeeta Devi, popularly know as ‘Mamoni’ was a priestess at Gurudham, a popular mission in eastern Kolkata.
“Das might have been used by dissidents who have been challenging the authority of Sangeeta Devi,” said Dhirendra Roy, a follower of Sangeeta Devi.
“A case was pending at a court in Agartala since last year following the dispute over right to give initiation to the disciples,” said Roy.
There are also disputes over the ownership of assets of temple branches in Agartala, Silchar, Siliguri, Bihar and Bangladesh besides main temple at Kakurgachi in Kolkata, he added.
The Kolkata Police detective department suspects the killings were pre-planned.
“Attacker Kalipada Das was driven out of Gurudham for his aggressiveness by the mission head, Sanghita Devi, one and a half years ago. After that he went to a mission in Uttaranchal. Since Monday, he again started frequenting the mission,” Deputy Commissioner (Detective Department) Jawed Shamim told IANS.
“We are still not sure about the motive behind the murder. The bodies of the nuns have been returned to the mission after post-mortem. No details about the family background of Das have been found so far,” Shamim said.
Sushanta Hajra, a doctor who treated Das, said: “Kalipada suffered from personality disorder and psychosis. Besides he was a drug addict.”