A young man was allegedly killed and packed into a suitcase by his acquaintances who had claimed to have kidnapped him and demanded Rs 30 lakh from his father as ransom.
The grisly murder took place in Kestopur, on the northeastern fringes of Kolkata, where the 19-year-old victim, Sajid Hossain, had rented an apartment to pursue a coaching class for next year’s national medical entrance examination.
Two men have been arrested and charged with abduction and murder.
Police said Sajid’s body was found stuffed inside a suitcase hidden under a bed in the house of the prime suspect, Gautam Singh.
Singh, who ran a fast food stall in Mahisbathan and was also a broker for paying-guest accommodation, lives in an apartment at Kestopur’s Tarulia, the same neighbourhood where Sajid had rented an apartment.
Singh’s acquaintance, Pappu Ghosh, who worked as a house painter, was the other person who was arrested.
“According to the statement of the accused persons, Sajid had consumed alcohol on the night of October 4. A liquor bottle has been seized from Gautam Singh’s house, where the body was found. We will send a sample of the seized liquid for tests to find out whether it was contaminated. The post-mortem report will reveal whether the victim was intoxicated when he was killed,” said Bidhannagar police commissionerate Gaurav Sharma.
Sajid’s family had not been able to connect with him since October 4 (Wednesday). On Thursday, around 9pm, the family is said to have received a ransom call from Sajid’s phone demanding Rs 30 lakh.
“A photograph showing Sajid’s face, gagged with a cellophane tape, was sent from his WhatsApp number to that of his father. The photograph was deleted by the sender after a few seconds. Then a call was made to the father demanding Rs 30 lakh,” said an officer of Bidhannagar police.
The family, from Malda, informed Bidhannagar police about their missing son and the ransom call.
“With the help of electronic surveillance, the location of Sajid’s phone was ascertained. CCTV camera footage showed Sajid was last seen with Gautam Singh. His house was raided early on Friday and Sajid’s body was found,” said the officer.
According to one of the investigators, Sajid used to lead a “flashy lifestyle” and had recently purchased an iPhone 15. Ghosh and Singh had accompanied him to the store when he bought the phone.
He would also often organise parties in his apartment and the accused, along with some of their other friends, would regularly drop in, said an officer of the local New Town police station who spoke with Sajid’s neighbours.
“This led Singh and Ghosh to believe that Sajid was from a very rich family and that they would be able to extort money from them if they kidnapped him,” the officer said.
Sajid’s father is a teacher by profession, the police said.
The police said they suspect that Sajid was killed even before the ransom call was made. “We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the time of death,” said an officer.
The officer, who is part of the probe team, said: “The entire body was packed into a suitcase without mutilating it. This means the body was fresh and warm when it was stuffed inside the suitcase. Else, it would have been difficult to fit it into a suitcase.”