The body of a 35-year-old man was found with his throat slit on the bank of the Hooghly in Sodepur’s Malapara ghat, on the northern fringes of the city, early on Sunday. A part of the body was buried in mud.
The police later identified the deceased as Bittu Das. He was known as Bhandari in the Sodepur neighbourhood where he lived.
Officers said Das lived in a rented apartment on the ground floor of a building near the Vivekananda Samity playground.
Four of Das’s friends have been arrested in Belgharia, Kamarhati and Agarpara for allegedly murdering him.
“Some of the residents spotted the body on their way to the bank of the Hooghly in the morning and alerted the police,” said Raja Ahamed, councillor of Ward 7 of Panihati Municipality.
“This is an unusual occurrence because the area around the ghats do not usually witness much crime.”
Officers of Khardah police station who recovered the body said the throat bore a fine slit mark, suggesting a blade or a knife was used to kill him. “Most of the blood was washed away by the Hooghly tides, they said.
Investigators have learnt that the five had gathered on the bank of the Hooghly on Saturday night for a round of drink. A brawl broke out after a heated exchange of words, during which Das was murdered, officers apparently learnt from the accused.
“There appears to be more than what they have said. A drunken brawl can’t suddenly lead to murder. We will question them again to know about the real motive of the murder,” said an officer of Khardah police station.
Residents of the locality who spotted the body in the morning said it appeared that the assassins had buried the body under mud. The tides washed away a part of the mud, leaving the victim’s legs exposed.
Das used to stay alone in the locality and worked as a contract labourer, they said.
Grass fire
Waste and grass on plots in New Town near Action Area I were set on fire on Saturday. Residents alerted the New Town Kolkata Development Authority. NKDA sent teams but they could not find those who had set the fire.
FEAST TIME
Around 425 people, most of them dressed in traditional Malayalee attire, took part in an Onam celebration at a ceremony hall in Behala in southwest Kolkata on Sunday. The celebrations started with song and dance performances. It was followed by a traditional feast spread on a banana leaf — the sadya.
“Thiruvonam, the most auspicious day during Onam, fell on Thursday, but we celebrated it on Sunday since most people had to go to office that day,” said Jose Mukkathu, president of the Calcutta Malayalee Association.
