An assistant sub-inspector of police, Ratan Kar, who had gone missing on Wednesday afternoon was found dead at a tea estate in Alipurduar district on Sunday.
Police, who suspect he was murdered, have also found his motorcycle and are trying to locate his cell phone.
Kar, 52, who is from Dinhata of neighbouring Cooch Behar district, was posted at the traffic wing of Jaigaon police station.
On Wednesday, he started from Jaigaon on his motorcycle and was supposed to report at a checkpoint raised by the police on Asian Highway 48. He went missing along the way.
Police could trace him till Dalsinghpara, which is around 6km away from Jaigaon.
Police continued to search for him in private accommodations and tea estates but to no avail. His family members in Cooch Behar were contacted but they could shed no light on his disappearance.
According to police sources, around 6.30am on Sunday, some people spotted a sack near the Beech tea estate close to Hasimara off AH48, around 300 metres away from the checkpoint where ASI Kar was supposed to report last Wednesday.
The location is around 44km from Alipurduar town.
“Foul smell was emanating from the sack and people informed us about it. Soon, teams from different police stations and from the district headquarters reached the site. The sack was opened and the ASI’s body was recovered from it,” said a police officer.
Police found his bike but not his phone.
Bholanath Pandey, the district police chief, who reached the spot from where the body was recovered, said: “He (Kar) was a responsible officer. We are waiting for the post-mortem and forensic test reports to know the cause of his death. Our officers are trying to gather more information about him.”
Some police officers suspect that Kar was murdered elsewhere and his body and his bike were dumped near the tea estate later.
“The circumstances of the case left us suspecting that he was murdered away from the spot where his body was found,” said an officer.