The horse head scene from The Godfather

In a horrifying scene from the film The Godfather, a crime syndicate strikes terror by leaving the bloody head of a black racehorse in its owner?s bed, which he discovers in the morning as he tosses off his quilt.

In a sinister recall, a hearse, all done up with flowers, turned up in front of an office to carry the body of its owner on his last journey, although that man was still alive and holding a corporate meeting at that very moment.

The city on Tuesday afternoon witnessed this macabre mode of conveying a threat when the hearse, sent by an unknown person, came to a halt in front of Ramesh Agarwal?s office on Hazra Road. The hearse attendant, identified as Gour Nayak, went straight to Agarwal?s office.

The employees in Agarwal?s office were stunned when the hearse attendant said he had come to collect Agarwal?s body and wanted to know where it was kept.

They immediately established contact with Agarwal, a businessman who deals in computer parts, who was in Delhi then.

Angry Agarwal, who was in a meeting with his clients, contacted the police in Calcutta and lodged a complaint.

A police team questioned the hearse attendant. ?Agarwal could not guess who could have sent it. It seems, a business-related rivalry was behind the incident,? said N.R. Babu, deputy commissioner of police (south division). ?It was, perhaps, intended to be a threat.?