Kolkata: 60-year-old found dead in Behala apartment complex

KOLKATA: A 60-year-old retired employee of a tea major who was in the operations wing was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Friday evening inside his residence at one of the biggest apartment complexes of Behala Chowrasta (Paris Para). Police claimed that the victim might have died by suicide after mixing phenyl in alcohol. The Parnasree police said that they would wait for a postmortem report.
The victim, identified as Inderjit Deepak Samuel Uppal, was residing alone in the two-bedroom flat. His wife, who teaches at a boarding school in Nainital, was in Bengaluru where the couple’s daughter, an IT professional, is settled after marriage. The cops said they have recovered a suicide note from the spot but did not reveal its exact contents.
“During primary inquiry, it could be learnt that Uppal was suffering from neuro disorders and depression for a long time and took various medicines. He was also an alcoholic and chain smoker. It could be learnt from security personnel and sweepers that they spotted him nearly fifteen days ago for the last time. He looked very unwell and weak as he was shivering and walking very slowly and was unable to even speak properly. One of the guards even asked him to get tested for Covid. But then there was no follow up as he never spoke to his neighbours,” said an officer.
Cops said that it was around 3 pm on Friday that they received a call from his wife, Chandana Uppal where she informed that her husband had been staying alone at this third floor tower A3 flat from the end of December last year. “Chandana claimed that Uppal was not receiving phone calls since the last couple of days. We rushed to their flat and the caretaker of the apartment, Rabindra Nath Yadav, told us that it was he who had found the main door locked and newspaper lying untouched outside the victim’s flat,” said an officer.
The cops found the main wooden door locked from inside and several newspapers were stuck in between main door and collapsible gate. They broke open the lock of the main door and entered the flat with witnesses.
“We found him lying unconscious on his back inside his bedroom. We found dried blood smeared on the floor, on bed cover, towel, blanket and in a plastic bucket kept beside him. But, no external injury mark was found on his body. We also found a half empty glass filled with phenyle like substance and an empty container on the dining table. We removed him to Vidyasagar State General Hospital where he was declared dead,” said an officer.
“A case of unnatural death has been registered,” he said.