Body of missing businessman from Calcutta found in jute sack, business partner arrested

The body of a missing businessman was recovered from beneath a water tank on the outskirts of the city, a police officer said on Wednesday.

The official said that the body of Bhavo Lakhani, resident of Ballygunge area here, was found in a jute sack under the tank at the residence of his business partner Anirban Gupta on Tuesday.
The body was found during a police raid at Gupta’s house, which was suspected by neighbors who noticed sudden construction activity around the tank around 3 a.m. in the Nimta area on the northern fringes of the city, police said.
During interrogation after his arrest, Gupta allegedly confessed to hitting Lakhani hard on the head with a cricket wicket during a heated argument at his residence on Monday morning and later hiding the body in a jute sack, the official said.
Forensic tests and post-mortem examination revealed that the deceased was physically assaulted, with injury marks visible on the body, including the head.
The officer said investigation revealed that the accused had borrowed a huge amount from the deceased but had failed to repay it for a long time.
Based on preliminary investigation, the officer said Lakhani had reportedly gone to Gupta’s residence in the early hours of Monday to discuss “recovery of the money”, but his mobile phone became inaccessible shortly after.
Responding to a question, the officer said it was not clear whether more than one person was present at the scene at the time of the murder, but it was clear that multiple people were involved in the attempt to hide the body.
Both the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, responsible for Nimta, and the Calcutta Police, where the deceased businessman lived, were investigating the incident and the sequence of events leading up to and after it.