Kolkata:
The owner of a suspected chit fund called Hello India was found dead at his home in Chinsura on Monday morning. The family of 48-year-old Jayanta Sarkar, who was found hanging in a room, claims he has been murdered.
His family members say they had last seen Mr Sarkar talking late into the night with three people who were most probably agents of his company. His wife, Papiya Sarkar, has registered a police complaint against the three people.
The chit fund scam in West Bengal has so far claimed five lives.
On Monday, Jagdish Roy, a 60-year-old man, committed suicide at Sodepur near Kolkata after being beaten up and humiliated by his neighbours - two young women - who led a mob of depositors and agents of the Annex chit fund, where his son, Bidhan, used to work as an agent.
Till recently, the Roys and their neighbours, the Bose family, were good friends. So close that 55-year-old Mira Bose even deposited Rs 2.4 lakh with Bidhan. But relations soured after Bidhan's chit fund went bust last month and Bidhan absconded.
Jayanti Roy, Mr Jagdish Roy's daughter-in-law, blamed her neighbours for the tragedy and said, "They tortured him so badly and are responsible for my father-in-law's death. They must be punished severely."
Mira Bose and her daughters say they wanted the money back. Mrs Bose said, "In the past, when there was trouble at their house, we helped them. On Sunday, a small matter happened and he died."
Jhuma Ghosh, her daughter, said, "There were lots of people. We never beat him with a shoe. Another girl from the neighbourhood had slapped him. I had tried to stop that. We never raised a hand against him."
But other neighbours say Mira Bose's daughters and another woman who also lived in the neighbourhood led the mob. They also say they could not help Jagdish as the mob was angry and threatening. They called the police but in vain.
Late on Monday, police arrested Mira Bose's two daughters who Mr Roy's family claims drove him to his death.