A man in his 40s was found dead with his head smashed by a concrete chunk in a park barely 300m from Bantra police station in Howrah on Wednesday morning.

Subhasish Mudi, who saw the body at Bijyananda Park while taking a walk, said: "There were blood stains on a bench, grass and the iron railing. Police were making arrangements to remove the body."

Howrah police commissioner D.P. Singh said a concrete chunk with bloodstains was found near the body.

The murder - especially the smashed head and the blood-stained chunk of concrete - revived memories of the "Stoneman". In 1989, 13 footpath-dwellers were killed in Calcutta within six months and all had their heads smashed by stones.

The police as well as the public believed that one individual was behind the murders and the suspected killer was nicknamed "Stoneman".

An officer of Bantra police station, however, said the unidentified man found murdered in the park fell victim to a rivalry between two groups of criminals.

The face was smashed beyond recognition.

"There is no CCTV camera in the park or its immediate vicinity. We are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras installed nearby. The pieces of evidence collected till now are not enough to identify the man," police commissioner Singh said.

Bantra residents allege the park turns into a vice den at night in the absence of police vigil.

"Forget CCTV cameras, there are no guards at night in the park. The main gate remains locked at night but people can enter the park through an adjacent passage. Besides, there are open entrances on Netaji Subhas Road and Kalachand Nandi Lane," Subhajyoti Das, a resident of Bantra, said.

During summer, he alleged, many residents of the area sleep in the park at night.

"Earlier, the police would occasionally inspect the park at night. But the practice stopped several years ago," said Somnath Hazra, a resident of Kalachand Nandi Lane.

The police, however, denied the allegations. "There are regular patrols at night but cops seldom enter the park," said an officer who refused to be named.

Many residents who visit the park in the early hours for their daily walk are now having second thoughts over their timing.

"I get up at 4am and go to the park for my walk. After today's gruesome murder, I have decided not to visit the park so early," a resident of Netaji Subhas Road said.