A 30-year-old woman was found murdered in a rented house at Chhit Kalikapur, off EM Bypass in southeast Kolkata, on Sunday afternoon.
Police suspect the man with whom she shared her room killed her. The accused is missing.
The police said the woman, Rupdasi Sardar, worked in a factory nearby, where she had met a man named Bapi.
The two had rented a one-room house with a tin shade, near Chhit Kalikapur Pathamik Vidyalaya, three months ago, the landlord has told the police.
“The landlord’s daughter spotted the woman lying on the floor through a window and found the door locked from outside. The family alerted the police. The lock was broken and the woman, who was lying unconscious, was taken to the NRS Medical College and Hospital, where she was declared dead,” said an officer of East Jadavpur police station.
The police said they found ligature marks on her neck, indicating murder. ”The man with whom she lived is missing. A neighbour had spotted him leaving the house on Sunday morning,” the officer said.
The police said Bapi, originally from Jibantala in South 24-Parganas, had worked as a mason before joining the factory where Rupdasi worked.
The police have learnt that a broker had introduced Rupdasi and Bapi to the landlord. He had also put a few more men and women looking for rented accommodations in touch with the landlord.
Rupdasi, Bapi and a couple, who the woman had introduced to the landlord as her elder sister and brother-in-law, rented two rooms for Rs 1,500 each.
An officer of East Jadavpur police station said the couple had been missing, too, since Sunday morning.
“An unnatural death case has been started. We are waiting for the post-mortem report. No one has yet been arrested,” the officer said on Sunday evening.
“The victim was married. We will speak with the man she was married to to know more details about her.”
The neighbourhood where the woman was found dead is dotted with standalone buildings and apartment blocks. The police said they were examining footage of CCTV cameras installed close to the house where the victim stayed.
Last week, a woman was found murdered in a Garfa neighbourhood, not far from this place. The woman was allegedly strangled by a man with whom she had a relationship.
The man later ended his life on the railway tracks between Ballygunge and Dhakuria railway stations.
