Mystery shrouds widow's death

KOLKATA: A 76-year-old widow was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her Rash Behari Avenue apartment on Friday morning. While the partially-decomposed body bore no marks of injury and her valuables remained intact, the main door to the one-room flat was locked from outside. The autopsy report can provide more clues, said police.
The victim, Papri Mitra, had no children and stayed alone in the flat ever since the death of her marine engineer husband Ramkrishna Mitra in 2006.
Papri was last seen on Monday. Her driver Gopal Chakraborty visited the flat almost everyday since then, but returned after finding the door locked. On Thursday, when Chakraborty called her mobile phone and found it was switched off, he informed Papri’s cousin Shyamali Kuriyen. Kuriyen lodged a missing complaint at Gariahat police station on Friday morning following which police officers initiated an inquiry.
Police consulted Papri’s brother Kiriti Sengupta, a former Kolkata Police officer, and broke open the door to find the woman lying dead on her bed. “As we entered the flat, we were greeted by a foul smell. The body was partially decomposed. Because of the cool weather, the rate of decomposition was slow. She died at least three days ago. There was a comforter around her neck. But there was no sign of asphyxiation,” said joint commissioner (crime) Pallab Kanti Ghosh.
“The blanket was pulled up till her neck and her glasses rested on her forehead indicating that she was reading something at the time of her death. The fan, the lights and the television were switched on. There was no sign of disturbance either on the bed or in the room. Everything in the room was intact. In the wardrobe, we found gold jewellery worth a few lakhs. The mystery now hinges on the autopsy report,” Ghosh added.
While Sengupta described his elder sister Papri as “quite active and healthy”, Chakraborty could not contain his tears. “Madam was very good and kind. . She was supposed to visit Puri some days later. When I failed to get in touch with her, I contacted the travel agency to check if she had already left for Puri. But I got no news,” he said.
Papri’s neighbours said neither did they hear any scream or sound, nor did they get any foul smell.