The decomposed bodies of a woman and her son were recovered from the second floor apartment of a building in Bediapara Nabapally in Dum Dum in northeast Kolkata on Thursday night.
Srabani Pal, 51, was found lying on a bed while Sandip, her 28-year-old son, was found hanging from a ceiling fan when some residents broke into the flat accompanied by Srabani’s brother close to midnight on Thursday.
Police suspect that the mother and son had committed suicide a few days back.
Srabani’s brother had reached Dum Dum on Thursday night trying to find out why the family was incommunicable for the last few days.
The police said the duo had possibly committed suicide a few days back considering the amount of putrefaction that had set in. They would wait for the post-mortem report to get more details, the cop added.
“We have also found a suicide note. There are some scribblings, some of which appear to be irrelevant. We will not divulge the content of the note,” said a senior officer of Dum Dum police station.
Preliminary investigations revealed Srabani was a widow. She and her son had moved into the rented accommodation in Dum Dum around six months back from Andul in Howrah. They were paying Rs 8,000 rent per month for the 780-square foot flat, the police said.
The house owner had told the cops that while he received the rent for the first three months on time, the family started faltering from the fourth month onwards.
“A few days back the son told me they would be going out for a few days and would return by March 20. He will then clear the outstanding amount,” Manik Majumder the landlord said.
“When I couldn’t contact them I informed the woman’s brother. When we opened the door, a stench hit us,” he said.
The cops said the main door of the apartment was locked from inside
The mother-son duo was last spotted outside four days prior to Holi.
Some of the neighbours who interacted with them over the past few months, said they were amicable.
Officers said they suspected that the family had huge debts which they were struggling to repay.