Park Street hotel murder: Two held from Odisha

Kolkata: The Detective Department (DD) of Kolkata Police has arrested two men from Cuttack in Odisha in connection with the murder of a youth whose body was discovered hidden inside a hotel bed storage box in Kolkata’s Park Street area last week.

The accused, identified as Shaktikant Behara and Santosh Behara, were produced before a local court in Odisha and remanded to transit custody.

They are expected to be brought to Kolkata on Thursday for further interrogation. On Friday, the decomposed body of Rahul Lal, a resident of Picnic Garden, was found inside the storage bed of a room at Hotel Al Burj on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road near

Park Street. The body was discovered around 11:15 am after new guests complained of a foul smell.

Investigations revealed that three men had checked into the room on October 22. One left early, while another returned later that night and eventually departed with the man who had remained in the room. CCTV footage and hotel records helped police identify the suspects.

Acting on technical surveillance and tip-offs, officers tracked and arrested the duo from Sambalpur on Tuesday night. Police are probing the motive, with unconfirmed reports hinting at a possible link to an antique smuggling racket.