A 48-year-old woman who lost her husband last year allegedly committed suicide in southwest Kolkata’s Behala on Monday morning.
Soma Bhattacharya lived alone in a rented apartment on Rajarammohan Road at Bhasha Para in Behala.
“Bhattacharya’s landlord had tried to contact her on Monday morning but she was not responding to the knocks on the door or picking up her phone. The landlord then alerted the neighbours and informed the police,” said an officer of Behala police station.
Bhattacharya was found lying on the floor with a small bowl near her.
“Prima facie, it appears that the bowl contained some kind of an insecticide. The sample has been sent for forensic examination. A suicide note has been found in the apartment. It mentioned the death of her husband last year,” said an officer of Behala police station.
The police said that according to neighbours and relatives, the woman worked as a police homeguard and had been “depressed” since the death of her husband Arghya Bhattacharya last year.
The police said they had yet to verify this. The couple did not have children.
She was declared dead at Vidyasagar State General hospital.
Deputy commissioner (southwest division) Saumya Roy said the body has been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of her death.