A partly decomposed body of a woman in her 70s was found in her house on Madan Dutta Lane in Bowbazar early on Tuesday.
Some neighbours of the woman had alerted police after they found a foul smell coming from the house.
Police officers broke open the door and found Sikha Mukhjerjee on the floor with a mattress beside her and some items thrown around.
Sikha’s son was in another room, the police said.
When the police asked the son about how his mother died, he could only tell them his mother’s name. “He remained quiet after that,” an officer said.
“The woman appeared to have died at least three days ago. The body had turned black and some parts had started decomposing, giving rise to the stench,” said a senior officer of Muchipara police station.
“We are awaiting the post-mortem report,” the officer said.
The police have detained the son for questioning.
Later in the day, the son was sent to SSKM Hospital for a health check-up after it appeared that he was possibly mentally ill.
“The son was violent at times,” a neighbour has told the cops.
The police said some neighbours told them the son had called a guard who works at the East-West Metro project construction site in Bowbazar a few days ago and told him that his mother had passed away. He asked the guard to remove her body, the neighbours told the police.
“No one believed him since he would often call passersby and tell them something or the other from the window,” the officer said.
Sikha had lost her husband many years ago.
“It is still not clear whether the son hit Sikha with a heavy object resulting in her death. We have sealed the house and called forensic experts to collect evidence,” the officer said.