Debt-driven triple murders in Kolkata: Tangra's dark reality

The shocking triple murder case from last month in Tangra, Kolkata, involving a family, is beginning to make sense.

On February 19, police discovered the bodies of three family members in a home.

This tragic event was uncovered after two brothers, Prasun and Pranay Dey, along with Pranay's son, drove their car into a pillar in an alleged suicide bid.

During questioning at the hospital, they revealed the grim discovery waiting at their residence.

Prasun Dey has confessed to killing his wife Romi Dey, 14-year-old daughter, and sister-in-law Sudeshna Dey. Investigations point to a staggering debt of Rs 16 crore as the possible catalyst for these horrors.

Residing together in Tangra were Prasun, his wife, their daughter, his brother Pranay, Pranay’s wife, and their son. In a harrowing police confession, businessman Prasun described a suicide pact formed with his wife, brother, and sister-in-law to escape their financial woes. But when their pact failed, it spiraled into murder.

The Traumatic Pact and Murders

On February 17, in a harrowing attempt to follow through with their pact, the family consumed rice pudding laced with sleeping pills. They awoke the next day, the plan in ruin.

The brothers and their wives turned to a more desperate measure—to assist each other’s demise. Notably, the children were uninvolved and unaware of this despairing scheme.

In a chilling account during police interviews, Prasun recounted smothering his daughter while his wife coordinated by restraining her, subsequently attempting to take her own life by cutting her wrists. When this failed, Prasun intervened to fatally wound her. Similarly, he executed his sister-in-law.

Subsequently, Prasun joined Pranay and his nephew in the fateful car ride, crashing into a pillar early in the morning. Pranay maintains this was a suicide attempt. Police are eager to record Pranay’s testimony and plan to arrest him following his recovery.

Both brothers are recuperating at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital under police supervision following injuries from their suicide bid.

Enormous Debt as a Trigger

The probe into the Dey family’s actions unearthed their suffocating Rs 16 crore debt as their motivator for such drastic actions, as reported by Indian Express. They faced imminent dues equivalent to Rs 47 lakh in EMIs for their multiple cars.

Prasun Dey was taken into custody after intensive police interrogation post-hospital release, and presented in court today, where he was remanded to police custody until March 6.