Wife throat slit, trader found hanging - Stench of domestic torture, police suspect shopowner killed lady and committed suicide

People gather in front of the house (in purple on left) where the couple were found
dead at Rabindranagar in Siliguri on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, Feb. 22: The wife of a Siliguri shopowner was found dead, with her throat slit, at their rented home while her husband was hanging from the ceiling fan in the same room this morning.

Police sources said they suspected Pranesh Sarkar, the 26-year-old trader, killed his wife Sushmita, 23, then hanged himself.

The police have found a note in the house but did not disclose its contents.

Pranesh and Sushmita had been married for three years and had a daughter who was two years old. They stayed in a rented flat in the Rabindranagar area in Siliguri.

Sushmita's father today said Pranesh repeatedly assaulted her and the couple frequently fought with each other.

Their daughter was at the maternal grandfather's home last night.

"We suspect that Pranesh killed his wife by hitting her head and slashing her throat. He then hanged himself with a rope and committed suicide," a police officer said. There were deep cuts on Sushmita's throat, an injury on the head and lacerations on her limbs.

The investigators are also trying to find out whether Pranesh had any big loans to clear.

"We are trying to find out if they were depressed or under any kind of pressure," the officer said.

This morning, when a plumber came to their home for some repairs, repeated knocks did not elicit any response. The man then rang Pranesh's cellphone and still got no reply. He then called the landlord who in turn informed the police.

Sushmita's father Subhash Dutta said: "They got married three years back. Soon after the marriage, Pranesh used to torture my daughter on some pretext or the other. Fights had become a regular problem and on many occasions, my daughter told me that her husband had beaten her up."

Dutta, too, stays in Rabindranagar, a middle-income locality in the town.

His granddaughter, Dutta said, often visited his home and stayed with them.

"She was staying with us for the past two days," he said.

The couple used to stay on the ground floor of a two-storey building. They had been staying on rent for the past two months, neighbours said.

As they were new in the area, neighbours could not give details about Pranesh, whose stationery shop is in Siliguri's Bidhan Market, or his wife.

"I am shocked after today's incident and have no idea what led to it. They were not on good terms but I have never dreamt that something of this kind could happen," Dutta said.