Bhopal killer sent to 8-day police custody in Bengal

Bhopal resident Udayan Das, who allegedly killed his parents and live-in partner, was sent to eight-day police custody in West Bengal on Tuesday while locals held angry protests in the court premises.

Das, brought to the Bankura district court under heavy police escort in a prison van, has been slapped with charges of murder, abduction and causing disappearance of evidence etc.

Clad in a white T-shirt and sporting an unkempt beard and dishevelled hair, Das looked unruffled as police almost jostled through a large number of people who rallied at the court premises.

Many shouted invectives at Das, and even hurled bricks as police managed to escort him inside the courtroom and closed its doors.

The prosecution pleaded for an eight-day remand, terming the case as rare.

The murders were pre-planned and carried out in cold blood, and not committed on any sudden impulse, the government lawyers argued.

The defence, on the other hand, moved a bail plea, saying there was no need to take Das in custody, as the police have already collected materials and evidences they were looking for.

Das' lawyer on grounds of "insanity" pleaded that his client should not be handed over to the police immediately.

"My client is a psychiatric patient. He needs to go through treatment first. We cannot depend on his statements as he is not mentally stable," the lawyer said.

After hearing both parties, Chief Judicial Magistrate A.K. Nandy turned down the bail application and sent Das to police custody for eight days. He will again be presented before the court on February 15.

The court proceedings over, Das was taken to the Bankura police station for interrogation.

"We need to interrogate him to find out the real motive for murdering his live-in partner Shweta Sharma," Bankura Superintendent of Police Sukhendu Hira told IANS over phone.

"During initial questioning, Das said he killed his partner in a fit of rage," he said.

Das was brought to Bankura from Kolkata airport on Monday night under police escort.

His arrival was delayed as IndiGo Airlines refused to ferry Das on board its Raipur-Kolkata flight as the police escort did not possess valid security documents.

Das was arrested on February 2 by the West Bengal Police on charges of murdering Shweta Sharma (28) and entombing her body in a concrete block inside his house in Saketnagar in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

After Das was arrested on charge of murdering his live-in partner and entombing her body in his house in Bhopal, he also confessed to his parents' murder.

He told the police that he murdered both his parents in 2010 and interred their bodies in their house in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in a way similar to what he did in the case of Shweta.

--IANS

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