Body of ex-footballer found hanging

KOLKATA: A former footballer of East Bengal Junior team was found hanging from a tree near his home on Saturday morning.

Pradip Barua (29), of ward number 6 of Ashoknagar, had played for Manchester United as well but failed to flourish further. He had a business but that was also not doing well.

According to sources, on Friday night Barua called his mother and asked to take care of all other family members. Before anybody could react, he disconnected the phone.

Since then none of his family members were able to establish a connection with him through mobile phone. Without wasting any time, they lodged a missing diary at the Ashoknagar police station.

Though police started a search operation and continued throughout the night, Barua was found hanging from a tree a few hundred meters from his home in the wee hours of Saturday.

Allegedly, at the time of committing ‘suicide’, he was wearing the iconic red and yellow jersey of the East Bengal football club.

Police suspect that he committed suicide due to depression. No foul play was found during the preliminary investigation. Further investigation is underway.