The decomposed bodies of an elderly couple were found in their flat in Howrah’s Shibpur on Wednesday. Their son who was in the flat has been arrested in connection with the death of his parents.

Pradyut Bose,75, and his wife Gopa, 70, used to live with their son Subhojit, 40, in their flat on the top floor of a four-storey building in Koi Pukur lane in Shibpur, police said.

On Wednesday morning, neighbours of the Bose family became suspicious because of a stench from the flat. They knocked on the door and Subhojit answered, the police said. On entering the house, the neighbours found the bodies of his old parents and they alerted the police.

Cops reached the house and removed the bodies and sent them for post-mortem.

“Preliminary investigation and according to the statement of the son of the deceased, he has admitted to have smothered his parents to death with pillows,” an officer in Howrah said.

He has been arrested and he will be produced in court on Thursday.

The police have found from the neighbours that Pradyut Bose had been ill and bedridden for the past couple of years. His wife used to do all domestic chores, including going to the market. She was last seen returning home from the market on the morning of Kali Puja on Saturday.

“The family used to keep to themselves. The neighbours have not been able to say much except what they saw. The couple’s son is possibly jobless. But we are still to verify this fact,” an investigating officer said.

Cops will get the son checked up by medical practitioners to ascertain if he has any medical condition, the police said.