Teen sentenced to death for murdering four family members

By Sumesh Rajan | May 19, 2025

Malda, West Bengal, India –  An Indian court has sentenced 23-year-old Asif Mohammad to death for the brutal murder of four members of his own family in what the court termed a "rarest of rare" crime. The killings, which took place on February 28, 2021, in the town of Kaliachak in West Bengal's Malda district, went undetected for nearly four months before the buried bodies were discovered.

 

Delivering the verdict on Saturday, May 17, 2025, District and Sessions Judge Subhayu Banerjee ordered that Mohammad be hanged until death, following his conviction under multiple charges, including Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murder. He was also found guilty under Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 307 (attempt to murder).

 

"The court has delivered justice for a horrific and calculated act," said Special Public Prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee. "The accused, 19 at the time, drugged his entire family, tied them up, and drowned four of them, before burying the bodies beneath the floor of their home."

 

The victims were Mohammad’s immediate family: his father Jawad Ali (53), mother Ira Biwi (36), sister Rima Khatun (16), and grandmother Alek Nur Bewa (73). Authorities revealed that after rendering the five family members unconscious by mixing sedatives into their soft drinks, Mohammad tied their hands and taped their mouths. While his brother Arif briefly regained consciousness and managed to escape, the others were drowned in a water tank and later buried in a concealed chamber inside the family’s home.

 

The chilling discovery of the decomposing bodies in June 2021 sent shockwaves across the region and sparked nationwide outrage. Investigators described the case as deeply disturbing in its execution and concealment.

 

After nearly four years of legal proceedings, the court has now brought closure to one of the most heinous domestic crimes in recent memory, affirming the principle of justice in the face of unspeakable violence.