Manna death: Plot thickens,cops file murder case

The family members of both Manna and the girl confirmed the conversation but refused to reveal the identity of the girl for the fear of hurting her future marriage prospects.

Manna’s mother Malati said her son had mentioned recently that he was being “harassed” by the inspector-in-charge of the Dum Dum GRP police station and some local politicians. “Arindam called us thrice on the night of February 10. The first call was at 9.30 pm,asking us to destroy all documents related to our house and the home loan taken for it. He said he feared a raid by investigators. At 11.15 pm,he called us again and inquired if we had destroyed the documents. His last call was at 1.37 am when he said his “world was falling apart,” Malati said.

Relatives of the girl from Howrah,who did not wish to be quoted,said: “We had already begun preparations for the wedding,including printing of invitation cards. Manna would call up (the girl) often on the mobile. They were in touch. Since they weren’t married,it would be wrong to drag her name into it,” a relative said. The police,meanwhile,said though prima facie,Manna’s death appeared a case of suicide,they have registered a case of murder and handed over the case to the CID’s homicide division.

A team of four CID officers,led by DSP Ranjit Chatterjee,visited Manna’s family in Dasnagar on Thursday,only to be told by Manna’s father Ashok that the family wanted the investigation to be done by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),which is presently handling the Rizwanur death case.

After objections by Manna’s family over the “hurried” manner in which the police tried to get the postmortem done on Wednesday at the Serampore Walsh hospital,a second autopsy was conducted on Thursday at the Police Morgue near the Calcutta Medical College & Hospital. Manna’s relatives,who accompanied the body from Walsh hospital,said no doctor was available for a long time there to sign the body’s release.

Manna’s body,wrapped in a green bed-sheet,finally arrived at the Kolkata Police Morgue in a police Tata 407 vehicle around 1.15 pm,escorted by five personnel of the Bengal Armed Police. As the Walsh hospital had already started the autopsy,the viscera had been removed. The same was carried in a separate container into the morgue.

Manna’s relatives claimed there was enough evidence to prove it was murder. “Arindam had two mobile phones,one with a Vodafone connection and the other an Airtel. He changed his mobile numbers several times over the past year. The police recovered the cell phones,but the SIM cards were missing,” claimed Manna’s cousin Debaprasad Moitra. His body,clad in blue trousers and a red striped shirt was found with its head severed,police said. The bones of the limbs were broken,Moitra said.

Howrah SRP Tapas Das,who visited the spot near Mankundu with ADG (Railways) Dilip Mitra,said no complaint had come to him from train drivers regarding any mishap. “The matter is under scrutiny,” Das said. Sources in the GRP said a mishap could occur in the early morning without the driver’s knowledge due to the winter fog. “A tea seller told the GRP that he saw Manna late at night. We are investigating,” they added.

Sanjoy Mukherjee,the Special DIG (CID) who is heading the investigation in Manna’s death,said: “It is a very serious case. It will take some more time before the final autopsy report findings are made available.”