Widow held in Tripura triple murder

The killing of three employees of a newspaper office here last month has taken a new turn with the arrest of the widow of one of the victims, police said Saturday.

"Police last (Friday) night arrested Niyoti Ghosh, wife of slain driver Balaram Ghosh and presented her Saturday in a local court which sent her to seven days of police custody," West Kotowali police station Officer-in-Charge Sanjay Biswas told IANS.

Balaram Ghosh along with manager Ranjit Choudhury, an ex-Border Security Force personnel, and proof reader Sujit Bhattacharjee were murdered in the 'Dainik Ganadoot', a Bengali daily, office building here May 19.

"We have arrested Niyoti Ghosh after inconsistencies were observed in her statements," Biswas added.

A senior police officer, who did not want to be named said: "The killing... might be related to property (dispute) or illicit affairs."

Niyoti Ghosh and her 13-year-old daughter witnessed the murder of Balaram Ghosh, who was stabbed to death by two assailants, who fled the scene immediately after the crime on a motorbike. The family was also staying in the same newspaper building.

Owner-cum-editor of the newspaper Sushil Choudhury was present in his room at the first floor when goons killed the trio, but he denied that he saw anything or heard any sound.

The police grilled Choudhury on a number of times since May 19. Senior police officers questioned him for many hours at the police headquarters Friday too.

The main opposition Congress observed strike in Tripura on May 21 to protest the sensational crime and demanded arrest of the culprits.