A decapitated and partially decomposed body of a man was recovered from near a water body in Mahisbathan, on the fringes of Salt Lake, on Thursday, police said.

The identity of the man, in his late 30s or 40s, is yet to be ascertained, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

The body with no clothes on it and wrapped in a piece of cloth, lying in the bushes near the water body. Construction workers and fishermen who had first spotted the body alerted the police.

“Our teams searched the nearby water bodies and fields but the man’s head could not be found till late in the evening,” an officer said. Apart from the missing head, the body had no injury marks.

The area where the body was found has a number of water bodies where fish farming is practised. There are a number of residential buildings, too.

Of late, there has been a rise in construction of multi-storied building complexes because of Mahisbathan’s proximity to Sector V.

“Based on preliminary findings, it seems the man was killed somewhere else and the body was dumped in the water body,” said an officer.

“Whoever killed the man dumped the head elsewhere to ensure that he could not be identified easily. We have not found any identity card or cellphone near the body.”

The body has been sent to Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem.

A forensic team visited the spot to collect samples. A blue beret cap was found in a bush not far from where the body was found.

“We have alerted all neighbouring police stations and asked them to provide information about any missing male,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate.

According to the preliminary post mortem, the man had died at least 48 hours before the body was removed.

The body had swollen up as it had been submerged in water.