Shyamal Das, alias Hubba Shyamal

Shyamal Das or Hubba Shyamal, an accused in at least 30 murder and other cases, was found murdered on Thursday.

Shyamal’s decomposed naked body was found floating in a canal at Baidyabati in Hooghly district, around 10km from his house in Konnagar. He had been missing since May 29.

“The stomach had been slit. There were injuries caused by sharp weapons on his neck and face, too,” said an officer.

The nature of the injury in the stomach has led police to suspect that Nepu Giri, a friend-turned-foe of Shyamal, had a hand in the murder. “Slitting the target’s stomach and stuffing it with pebbles before dumping the body in water was Nepu’s style,” the officer said.

Nepu, who had been arrested for drug peddling and let out on bail a few days ago, is absconding. The police said Nepu believed that Shyamal was instrumental in his arrest and had since been plotting revenge.

The sleuths will also interrogate Ramesh Mahato, Shyamal’s alleged rival with whom Nepu is believed to have joined hands. Mahato was apparently the last person Shyamal met before he went missing.

“Shyamal was trying his hand in realty but that had won him some enemies,” said a senior police officer. In 2009, he had tried his luck in politics and filed nomination as an Independent in the civic polls in Konnagar. He later withdrew his candidature without citing any reason.

The police said Shyamal had left his Dharmadanga house in Konnagar around 6pm on May 29 to discuss a land row with Mahato.

“Both cellphones of Shyamal were switched off after 8.09pm. We have come to know from the call records that Shyamal had made his last call at 7.46pm,” said an officer.

Shyamal’s brother Mihir lodged a missing diary with Konnagar police station on May 30. One of his wives, Tapasi (Shyamal’s other wife is named Mitali), lodged an abduction case on Wednesday.

Shyamal, who the police said operated in Calcutta, Hooghly, Howrah and North 24-Parganas, had been charged with 14 murders.

Among his alleged victims were Manas Roychoudhury, a Congress leader in Rishra, and gynaecologist Sushil Pal.

Shyamal was arrested thrice and released on bail on every occasion. He was first picked up in December 2005 from in front of a Salt Lake multiplex, where he and two accomplices had gone to watch a film.

He was booked under the arms act before the Assembly polls and released on bail on May 14.