Siliguri, Oct. 27: Amit Agarwal’s last rites at the Ramghat crematorium near Jalpaimore this evening ended the thirty-year-old story of the young tea magnate of north Bengal.

Amit Agarwal, the heir of the Rs 300-crore empire of tea magnate Ajit Agarwal, was found unconscious at a city hotel near Darjeeling More yesterday. He later died after being taken to a nursing home. An empty bottle of rum and some loose pills were found in the room.

Police said the post-mortem report revealed that the death was caused due to a disorder in the lungs. Added to it, excessive consumption of alcohol and an overdose of tranquillisers and sedatives caused the death. The brain and other organs of the body were found normal, negating the possibility of any head injury, a source said. The forensic department has reportedly preserved the viscera from the stomach and liver for further tests.

Based on the findings of the post-mortem report, the Siliguri additional superintendent of police, Biswarup Ghosh, said Amit’s death was not normal but ruled out its possibility of being a murder.

“We have formed a special team to investigate into the death,” said Tapan Alo Mitra, the inspector-in-charge of the Pradhannagar police station. “We do not think interrogation of family members is required, because the post-mortem report showed that an overdose of alcohol and tranquillisers caused the death.” But the decision has led some quarters to believe that the police may be doing so at the behest of “influential people”.

The funeral raised a Rs 300-crore question — who will run the Terai Group of Industries?

Even as all concerned pondered over this, the name of Tinku Babu kept coming up in the tea circle here. Formally known as Sailesh Agarwal, Tinku Babu is the son of Amit’s uncle, Om Prakash Agarwal. Sailesh lit Amit’s funeral pyre.

Thousands of people, including big names in north Bengal industries, eminent business icons and a few political leaders, attended the cremation.

Tea-related activities in most areas remained suspended today which, according to officials of Terai Group of Industries, would resume from tomorrow. The Terai Group is owned by Amit’s father Ajit Agarwal.

Amit’s is the second unnatural death in three generations in the family. About 10 years ago, his grandfather Maidan Das Agarwal was murdered at Bagdogra Tea Estate, allegedly by garden workers over a labour dispute, an estate source said.

No one in the Agarwal family could be contacted.