Ex-serviceman, wife killed in Kalimpong

Vivek Chhetri, TT,  Aug 19, 2018, Darjeeling: An ex-serviceman and his wife staying alone 25km from Kalimpong town have been found murdered, with their bodies shoved in the septic tank.

Phurtemba Sherpa, 69, and Kusum, 55, were residents of Dokyong Sericulture area of Sakyong gram panchayat in Pedong. One of their sons is posted at Malda Correctional Home while the other is a teacher in a private school in Bihar.

"The bodies were recovered yesterday (Friday) evening from the septic tank of their house with deep sharp cut on their foreheads," said a police official.

The house was ransacked but it is not yet clear whether burglary was the motive behind the homicide as the sons are still grieving and are yet to talk to the police.

The village is not densely populated with the houses relatively far apart. Police sources said the couple had last been seen on August 16 evening.

"We are yet to ascertain whether the murder took place on August 16 night or the next day," said a police source.

The police, however, said they got "some clues" and were working on "four-to-five names". Sniffer dogs from Siliguri have been called for to aid investigations.

In 2014, Dominique Bhutia, 38, and wife Christina, 35, had been found murdered while their 12-year-old daughter had escaped the attack with serious injuries at their home in Lower Beong, 30km from Kalimpong town.

In the same month that year, Krishna Bahadur Gurung, 52, and wife Anjana, 48 and one of their neighbours were hacked to death at a village near Charkhol, 30km from Kalimpong, allegedly by a man farm hand of the family. The Gurungs' minor daughters were spared.