Police initiate suo motu murder case in Bhowanipore

It may be mentioned that 60-year-old Sunanda Gangopadhyay was found dead in a drain inside her house at Bhowanipore on Monday morning. Local people raised allegation of involvement of a real estate developer behind her murder. 

The police initially had to depend only on the allegations of local people to probe into the incident considering it as a murder, as there was no apparent injury marks found on her body. But the preliminary report of post-mortem stated that there were internal injuries on her head. There were also some injuries on her right hand.

Moreover, dust particles found in her wind pipe also established the fact that she was alive for quite some time after falling into the drain. 

A police officer said that the drain was not that wide to fit a human body. It seems that someone had pushed her into the drain when she fell on the floor after being pushed by the accused. Police also came to know from her relatives that she had not been receiving phone calls from 9 am on Sunday. Some of her relatives had continuously tried to contact her over phone from 9 am to 11 pm. The phone kept ringing but no one picked it up.

“This suggests that she died before 9 am on Sunday but the incident came to light on Monday morning when a student of the woman found her lying in the drain,” said a police officer. 

The real estate developer Himagshu Shah, who had bought the two-storeyed building on 6 cottah land a few years ago, was interrogated for around three hours on Monday night. He would again be questioned.

Local people had raised allegations against him of killing the woman as she was not ready to move out of the building.  Shah had initially brushed aside all allegations against him.

It is learnt that the police asked Shah the details of the agreement between him and the victim’s husband as the latter was staying as the tenant in the building. He was also asked whether there was any altercation with him and the victim or if he had ever send anyone to ask her to shift from the house where she was staying as a tenant and used to run an NGO to provide education to street children. He was also asked about the incident of kidnapping of the woman two years ago. Sources said that Shah told to the police that as far as he knows the woman was admitted to a nursing home as she was suffering from certain ailments.

A carpenter, who had worked in the victim’s house a few days ago, was also questioned. A police officer said that two neighbours of the victim would be interrogated as they know who used to visit the victim’s house. A team comprising forensic experts visited the house on Tuesday once again.