The decomposed body of a 70-year-old man, who was untraceable for 10 days, was found in an abandoned shop on Saturday night in Netaji Nagar’s Sree Colony.
The body of Biplab Kumar Pal was found after residents of the area alerted police that a stink was emanating from the abandoned shop behind Pal’s house.
The victims’ family members alleged that he was murdered by a neighbour with whom the Pals have been fighting a protracted legal battle.
“There were two complaints about Biplab Kumar Pal. The first said he was missing and the second alleged that he had been abducted,” said a senior officer at Netaji Nagar police station.
“The missing diary was lodged on July 14. The second complaint was filed on July 22,” the officer said.
Pal stayed in a room at one end of the terrace of his double-storeyed house. Family members told the police that on the morning of July 14, after Pal went missing, they found the fan and the air conditioner in his room on.
After waiting for two days, the family put up posters in the area appealing for information about him.
The police said Pal’s house was located in a densely populated neighbourhood in Netaji Nagar and it wasn’t easy for someone to kill a person and drag him away through the area unnoticed.
“We have spoken to the son of the deceased and collected footage of some CCTV cameras installed in the area,” the officer said. “It’s not quite clear how the victim reached the abandoned shop. We have not come across any footage that shows him moving towards the shop.”
Family members have told the cops that the terrace of their house was next to that of the neighbour with whom they were involved in a legal fight.
“They suspect that the victim was lifted from the terrace and murdered. The body was then dumped in the abandoned shop,” an officer said.
Pedestrian killed
A pedestrian died after being hit by a minibus on Garden Reach Road around 8am on Sunday.
Pushpa Karmakar, 74, was taken to SSKM Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries around 11am, poilce said. The driver of the bus has been arrested.