The man who was stabbed to death in Thakurpukur on Wednesday morning was killed because he thwarted attempts by the accused to woo his sister, police officers said off the record.
The murder was an act of revenge, they said.
Subol Sardar, the accused, was arrested on Thursday.
“Sardar, a resident of Joynagar in South 24-Parganas, had been staying in a rented accommodation near the home of Animesh Kumar Singh, the victim, in Thakurpukur’s Amritlal Mukherjee Road for the past few years,” said an officer at Thakurpukur police station.
Singh worked in a private firm’s logistics division at its Hyde Road office and his sister is an employee at a private company in Salt Lake.
“Sardar wanted to propose to her. When Singh came to know about it, he asked Sardar to stay away from his sister. Residents said Singh had even hit Sardar once over the issue,” the officer said.
Sardar held a grudge against Singh, officers who questioned him said. He would often carry a knife and look for an opportunity to strike.
He was aware that every morning Singh would drop off his sister at a bus stop at Behala Chowrasta before heading home on his two-wheeler.
CCTV footage collected from the area showed Sardar stopping Singh, who was on his way home after dropping off his sister at the bus stop. They moved to one side of the road to continue with the conversation when Sardar brought something out from his pocket and kept stabbing Singh, an officer said.
After Singh fell on the road, Sardar allegedly walked away.
A resident tried to chase Sardar on a two-wheeler but he escaped.