A man was found dead in the Metro tunnel between Park Street and Esplanade in the north-south corridor (Blue Line) in the early hours of Friday.

The man was declared “brought dead” at Medical College Kolkata, police said.

Metro sources said he was first spotted around 2.15am, barely 100m from Park Street station.

The RPF informed the police control room at Lalbazar, and subsequently, a team from New Market police station went to the spot and took him to the hospital.

“A burn injury was found on the right wrist of the man aged between 25 and 30 years,” said an officer of the New Market police station.

“The emergency medical officer verbally opined that the person was brought dead, and it appeared to be a case of electrocution. An unnatural death case has been registered with the New Market police station,” a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said.

“We are trying to fix the identity of the deceased person. CCTV footage is being examined,” he added.

Repair and maintenance work is common in Metro tunnels through the night. “Private contractors are often engaged. We are trying to find out if the deceased was a worker engaged by any contractor,” said a Metro official.

The body was found along the Up tracks, meant for Dakshineswar-bound trains.

On November 21, 2023, Metro services on the Blue Line were disrupted for over an hour during the morning rush after a critically injured man was found lying beside the tracks between Tollygunge and Rabindra Sarobar stations.

The man had head and leg injuries and was declared “brought dead” at MR Bangur Hospital, the police said. A Metro spokesperson said the man had been dead by the time he was lifted from the tracks and taken to Tollygunge station.

Barring stations, the Metro tracks — inside underground tunnels or on overhead viaducts — are virtually inaccessible for outsiders. But not so are the tracks in the open between Tollygunge and Rabindra Sarobar stations. A wall that is not impossible to scale marks the boundary.

New lines

At the Independence Day celebrations at Metro Bhavan, general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy confirmed that three new sections would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22.

The three sections are Sealdah-Esplanade section of East-West Metro (Green Line), Beleghata-Ruby (Hemanta Mukherjee) section of the upcoming New Garia-Airport corridor (Orange Line) and the Noapara-Airport section of the upcoming Noapara-Barasat corridor (Yellow Line).