A woman in her late 40s was arrested on Thursday night after a charred skeleton was found on the roof of her house in Salt Lake’s AJ block, police said.

Geeta Mahensariya and her younger son Vidur, 22, were arrested after a police team probing a missing complaint lodged by her estranged husband, Anil Kumar Mahensariya, landed at the two-storey house.

Anil had mentioned in the complaint that he was not being able to get in touch with his eldest son Arjun.

“It is yet to be ascertained whether the skeleton recovered from the roof is of the couple's eldest son,” an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

Anil, who runs a garment and footwear business, had separated from his wife in August last year and since been living in an apartment in Rajarhat, the officer said. The couple got married in 1988 and have three children, aged between 20 and 25.

Another officer said all three were staying with the mother at the AJ Block house.

Two of the siblings who were home were questioned by the police till late on Thursday.

“The father tried calling up Arjun several times but could not get in touch with him. He then went to Bidhannagar East police station and lodged a missing diary. He told officers that he suspected that his wife had caused harm to their eldest son,” said a senior officer of the commissionerate.

A team of forensic experts visited the house.

An officer in the forensic team said they found burnt items on the staircase leading to the roof.

“The skeleton seems to be charred. Preliminary investigations suggest the skeleton had been on the roof for several days,” the officer said.

An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said they were trying to find out the sequence of events and were speaking to neighbours to ascertain who all were there in the house during the lockdown triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The neighbourhood was in a state of shock. Many residents said Geeta was a soft-spoken woman, who used to greet everyone she met.

“She was nice to everyone and quite active during Durga Puja and other pujas in our block. This has come as a shocker for us,” said Indrani Choudhury, a resident of AJ block.