An elderly woman living alone in her home at Bangur Avenue was found dead when her relatives, alarmed that she had not been answering calls for two days, went to check on her on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Dipa Mukherjee, 62, a widow, was found with a towel wrapped around her neck.

Police said after a preliminary investigation that Mukherjee’s domestic help was missing.

“The cupboards were all ransacked. Relatives said Mukherjee used to wear ornaments. But no jewellery was found on her. Her mobile phone is missing, too,” said an officer of Lake Town police station.

“Since the help is missing, it seems to be a murder for gain.”

Some of the relatives of the deceased said they were unable to contact her over the phone for the past two days, an officer said.

“Alarmed, they went over to check on her. On reaching the house, they found the door open and the woman lying dead inside,” the officer said.

The decomposed body — the police said it was a few days’ old — was sent to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. A forensic team visited Mukherjee’s house.

“We have got in touch with the next of kin and are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm whether the death was homicidal,” the officer said.

“We are gathering information from neighbours about the help. We are also trying to find out whether anyone heard any unnatural sound from the house.”

A source said the elderly woman had not submitted any details of her help to the local police station.

Police stations across the state have forms that people are expected to fill in with details of their domestic workers or tenants. The forms are to be submitted with photographs of the workers and tenants.

“Such information helps the police track down a help or a tenant if he or she is suspected to have been involved in some criminal activity…. Despite awareness campaigns, the majority of the people do not submit the details,” an officer in the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.