A private security guard has been shot dead on the outskirts of Alipurduar town and police have arrested the principal accused and detained four others who were suspected to be present at the crime scene.

The body of Gourav Mukherjee, 29, was found near Bala bridge on NH31C around 6.30am on Sunday. He was a resident of Bholardabri near the Alipurduar town.

Y. Raghuvamshi, the Alipurduar district police chief, reached the spot and started a probe.

Gourav who was a security guard at a hotel in Alipurduar town joined his duty on Saturday afternoon.

Around 9pm, the youth, who had left his cellphone at home, called up his father from the hotel and said he would return late.

Around 12.20am, Gourav left the hotel with four others in a car and later, they were joined by another youth.

As Gourav didn’t return home, his family members started a search in the morning and learned his body had been found near the highway.

A post-mortem was conducted on the body and it was found that the security guard had been shot dead.

During the investigation, the police came to know that the group had an altercation in the car over some issue and suddenly, Liton Sarkar, who is from Pundibari of Cooch Behar, took out his licensed gun and fired at Gourav’s head at point-blank range.

Liton has been arrested while four others who were with him are being questioned by the police.

Woman murdered

The body of an unidentified woman was found in a paddy field in Malda district on Sunday. Police suspect she was raped and murdered.

“Her dresses were torn. Those who killed her had poured acid on her face to prevent her identification. Also, chili powder was sprinkled on her face and injury marks suggest she was hacked several times,” said a police officer.

The police also found a bottle containing acid, a packet of condoms and a knife near the body.