Family members of Rony Dutta, the 26-yearold man who was found dead in a Salt Lake guesthouse on Thursday morning, lodged a complaint of abetment to suicide against his woman friend, her elder brother and another youth, who visited the guesthouse before the incident happened.
Dutta’s post-mortem, which was performed on Friday, revealed his death was from “suicidal hanging”, a senior officer of the Bidhnanagar police said.
“Based on the complaint lodged by Rony Dutta’s family late on Thursday night, we have started a case under IPC section of abetment to suicide against the woman, her elder brother and the other youth, who visited the guesthouse,” said Biswajit Ghosh, deputy commissioner (detective department), Bidhannagar police.
The charge, if proved, could lead to a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment. The woman, in her early 20s, who has suffered a fractured arm, is in hospital. A youth, who was her friend, was the last visitor to the guesthouse on Wednesday night, police said.
“Apparently, there was a scuffle between Dutta and the woman after the friend left. We are examining all possible angles,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar police.
A team of forensic officials visited the guesthouse on Friday to collect samples from the two-room apartment where Dutta and the woman had been staying for the last two months.
The police said all the persons named in the complaint would be examined separately. During the investigation, the police said they found that the two had met six months ago through an online gaming app platform.
Dutta was from Jhalda in Purulia district, while the woman is from Konnagar in Hooghly district. Her friend is also from Konnagar, an officer said.
Dutta and the woman had moved into the apartment that had been booked by her elder brother.
Early on Thursday morning, the caretaker of the guesthouse in FE Block heard screams from inside and alerted the elder brother over the phone, who sent his driver to check.
The door bell was answered by the woman, while Dutta was found hanging from the ceiling fan in one of the two rooms of the apartment, the cops said.
Dutta was taken to a government hospital where he was declared dead. The woman was found with a fractured arm.
The police said there were signs of ransacking and violence in the apartment.