Officers probing the death of 72-year-old Nagerbazar resident Kalyan Bhattacharya said the 27-year-old driver, who has been arrested on the charge of killing the elderly man, had stolen at least five keys, including two to the garage where a BMW 6-series car was parked.
A gold chain that Bhattacharya was wearing is missing.
Bhattacharya’s decomposed body was found inside his house at Nagerbazar in Dum Dum last Wednesday night, after his niece alerted the police that his uncle was missing. The police later came to know that the BMW car was missing.
The accused, Sourav Mondal, has reportedly told the police that he stole the car and went to Digha with friends.
“We have recorded the statement of the men who accompanied the accused to Digha. They said that all along their stay in Digha, Mondal mostly remained silent or intoxicated. They have said they had no clue that their friend had murdered the car owner and stolen the car,” an officer said.
Mondal, a resident of Barasat, is in police custody.
An officer said the accused was taken to the victim’s residence at Nagerbazar on Sunday where he showed them the spot from where he had scaled the boundary wall and jumped into the property.
“Bhattacharya had published an advertisement in a vernacular daily on September 10 for a permanent or part-time driver. Mondal saw the advertisement and contacted Bhattacharya by calling the number mentioned in it,” the officer said.
Bhattacharya had asked Mondal to send his photograph through WhatsApp, the police said. After that Bhattacharya called him home and appointed him as his driver.
“On September 11 and 12, Bhattacharya had gone to an address in Salt Lake in his BMW car, which was driven by Mondal,” the officer said.
According to Mondal’s statement, Bhattacharya had agreed to give his BMW to Mondal for his Digha trip with friends. But he later refused to give the car and also blocked Mondal’s phone number, the accused told the police.
“Mondal had by then promised his friends that he would take them to Digha in a BMW. When Mondal went to Bhattacharya’s home on September 15, he found the main gate of the 60-cottah property locked from inside. He scaled the boundary wall and jumped into the compound and confronted Bhattacharya,” the officer said.
Mondal apparently told the police he had killed Bhattacharya with his hands.