A man who lived alone in a room on the terrace of a five-storey building was found dead in north Calcutta’s Jorabagan on Thursday morning.

The main entrance to the room in which he was found and the terrace door were locked from inside, but a rear door of the room was open when a neighbour spotted the body, police said.

A murder case has been started based on a complaint by Abhijit Banerjee's family.

Police said Banerjee, 57, an insurance agent, was lying face down on the floor with bleeding injuries.

He lived in the terrace room while other family members stay on the lower floors. The family has been staying in the house on rent.

The police said Banerjee owned a car which he would rent out.

On Thursday morning, the man who drives the car went to meet him but found the terrace door locked from inside. He called Banerjee on his cellphone but he did not answer, the driver reportedly told the police.

He then alerted Banerjee’s sister who lives in the same house. A neighbour accessed the terrace from an adjacent building and entered the room through the rear door. He found Banerjee lying on the floor.

“The victim had multiple injuries on him. There was an injury on his head which was caused by a blunt weapon," said a senior officer in the north division of the city police.

Police sources said investigators suspect the assailant had got on the terrace of the five-storey building by scaling pipes.

“The body has been sent for post-mortem. The cause of the death will be clear once the post-mortem report comes,” the officer said.

Banerjee's family has lodged a murder complaint against an unknown person. A chain and a ring were missing from the room.

Officers in the homicide wing of the detective department went to the spot. A sniffer dog was also taken to the room.

No one was arrested till late on Thursday evening.