KOLKATA: Investigating officers probing the murder of Rhea Kumari, who was shot dead at point-blank range by unidentified miscreants on the national highway in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Wednesday, smell some conspiracy. State police sources said there was a smack of conspiracy following the statements of the victim’s husband Prakash Kumar, who was driving the car in which Rhea Kumari was traveling with their three-year-old daughter.
Sources say that according to the statement of Prakash Kumar, the murder took place around 6 am on Wednesday when he was going from Ranchi to Kolkata and when he stopped his vehicle near Mahisharekha bridge at Bagnan under Uluberia subdivision of Howrah district. Answering the call of nature.
According to her statement, after stopping her vehicle, three miscreants attacked her with firearms with the intention of snatching and on resisting, one of the miscreants shot Riya Kumari at point-blank range, which eventually led to her death .
There are too many coincidental factors in this particular statement as the investigating officers give rise to some questions. “The first question is how the miscreants came to know that Prakash Kumar would stop his vehicle at that secluded spot near the Mahisharekha bridge. The second question is whether in that case his vehicle was being followed by the miscreants, which Prakash Kumar was not aware of. Don’t have a clue.” The third question is whether the place where Prakash Kumar claimed to have parked the car is not an ideal place for parking, even if for a limited period due to its secluded nature.
“It is possible that he was telling the truth and the sequence of events was mere coincidence. It is also possible that there could be some foul play in the incident.
“The investigating officers are also trying to ascertain whether CCTVs are installed in that area or not,” said a state police official.