Sohail Chaudhury’s Opel Astra being examined after the October 4 incident. A Telegraph picture

Suraj Singh, who was with Sohail Chaudhury and Deepesh Singh on the night before they were found unconscious in a car at New Alipore, was finally traced to the house of one of his relatives in Behala early on Sunday.

He told police that he had fled on finding the two unconscious, fearing they had died. But he later called Deepesh’s father, Arun, and told him that his son was unwell and had been admitted to CMRI. He actually did not know where Deepesh and Sohail had been taken, but as it turned out, he had guessed right. Deepesh was pronounced dead at the hospital, while Sohail was admitted to the ICU. A post-mortem on Deepesh found traces of a brown liquid in the teenager’s stomach.

Police said Suraj, who was absconding since the October 4 incident, was not arrested, as there was no evidence of foul play in Deepesh’s death. “We are matching Suraj’s statements with Sohail’s and have not found anything suspicious yet,” said Gyanwant Singh, deputy commissioner (detective department).

Suraj, who works at a local garage, told police that he, Deepesh and Sohail left New Alipore in Sohail’s Opel Astra early on October 4.

“Sohail was driving the car and we attended a party on Park Street. We returned around 4 am and Sohail parked his car in the garage of his apartment block,” Suraj said.

He left immediately, but returned in the afternoon and entered Sohail’s garage. “I was stunned seeing them unconscious in the car. Thinking they were dead, I fled. Later, I came to know that Deepesh had died and Sohail was admitted to hospital.” Suraj told sleuths that he was desperately looking for a way to convey the news of his friends to their families. He called Deepesh’s father and said his son had been admitted to CMRI.

Suraj denied having consumed liquor during the joyride. “We had some chips and soft drinks. Both Sohail and Deepesh seemed fine when I left them at dawn,” he told police. A preliminary report suggests Deepesh had died of poisoning. “The source of the poison can be ascertained only after the viscera report reaches us,” said deputy commissioner Singh.