Tomb killer neighbours recall 'spoilt brat' - 'Streak of madness'

Akansha’s parents at their Bankura home. Picture by Sujata Khan

Rasheed Kidwai, TT, Bhopal, Feb. 6: Neighbours of Udayan Das, accused of murdering his partner and Bankura girl Akansha Sharma, today recalled in Raipur that he used to threaten them and described the man as a "spoilt brat".

"We had gone to the Das family once to discuss about an approach road to our house. Udayan threatened us with dire consequences," recalled Sushant Mishra, who lives next to the building where Udayan had claimed to have murdered his parents in 2010 and buried them in the compound.

"We think there was a streak of madness in him. Udayan was a completely spoilt brat. He would constantly quarrel and misbehave with everyone, including his parents," Mishra added.

Asked about the death of Udayan's parents, he said: "They were not very social or popular among neighbours."

In Bhopal too, neighbours accused Udayan of rude behaviour. Some auto-rickshaw drivers recalled he used to borrow money from them and return it in the first week of the next month.

The daughter of an affluent dry fruit merchant who was seen coming out of a cinema hall with Udayan said she, too, feared for her life at times.

"In retrospect, I think he was planning to murder me too," Bhopal police officers quoted her as saying.

Bhopal superintendent of police Sidharth Bahugana said the cops were searching for a drug-peddler named "Tika-choti wala" who was friends with Udayan.

The officer said the drug peddler was untraceable for the past two years.

Udayan's maternal aunt Krishpra Chatterjee, who lives 2km from the Bhopal house where he stayed, today insisted she was not in touch with her nephew for many years.

"I do not remember when I met my sister (Udayan's mother) last. We lost our mother in 2000 and subsequently lost touch with each other," Krishpra said.