A 60-year-old woman living alone for the past decade was found murdered in the bedroom of her Kalighat flat on Friday.

Police said Manju Ghoshal, a retired postal employee and a familiar face in Nepal Bhattacharjee Lane, was possibly stabbed and slashed by someone she knew.

“We have found a used cup next to Manju’s mug, suggesting that the victim had offered someone tea or some other beverage to a visitor. That person could be the killer,” said an officer of Kalighat police station.

Neighbour Dola Roy spotted the body around 10.30am after walking in through the open door of Manju’s two-room flat on the top floor of the three-storeyed building. Her screams brought other neighbours running to the flat. The police arrived a little later.

“I had gone in carrying the day’s newspaper and almost fainted at the sight of Manju’s body in a blood-soaked nightgown, lying face up on the wooden cot in her bedroom. Manju wasn’t the type to let in a stranger; so whoever did this to her must have been someone she was familiar with,” Dola told the police.

The police found injuries on Manju’s neck and abdomen, and scratch marks on her arms. “The killer apparently used a sharp weapon,” an officer said.

Scraps of paper, empty medicine foil, a comb and a blood-soaked napkin were strewn on the bed. A vintage wooden clock hung on the wall, the hour hand showing seven.

Neighbours said Manju, whose only daughter Manashi is married and lives in Sinthee, was an outgoing person and popular in the building. “Manjudi loved jewellery. In fact, we rarely saw her without ornaments. But this morning when we saw the body, she wasn’t wearing her regular jewellery,” said retired schoolteacher Chinu Gupta, Manju’s neighbour for decades.

Relatives weren’t able to immediately confirm whether any jewellery was missing.

The police said Manju’s killer might not be a thief because the wardrobe was untouched. “The cash that she kept at home isn’t missing either,” an officer said.

According to a neighbour, Manju “lived well” with her pension and that of her husband. She had bought a new air-conditioner for her bedroom a month ago and hosted a party to celebrate it.

Manju would note down her daily expenditure in a small pocket diary, friends said.

Her daughter would visit her at regular intervals but their last meeting was “after a long gap”, Manashi’s mother-in-law Sikha Moitra said.