The abductors took Bera to a room in Dabaspet, tied him up and tortured him — he was stripped naked and chilli powder rubbed on the body.
The police suspect that goldsmith Nitesh Bera, 35, who was abducted on Tuesday and later found murdered in Dabaspet on Wednesday, was not killed for ransom. The culprits might have used it as a ruse to throw the police of the trail.
On Tuesday night, the abductors took Bera to a room in Dabaspet, tied him up and tortured him — he was stripped naked and chilli powder rubbed on the body. This torture method is commonly used in China, said the police.
The body did not have any external injuries apart from the stab injury on the neck. The police said a gang of seven to eight members might have been involved.
Bera’s last call at 1.50 am was to his employee Iqbal, who informed him that Bera’s wife Uma Bera had approached the police. The culprits then switched Bera’s cellphone off and stabbed him in the neck. They disposed of the body by the roadside.
The police said they have the call details of Bera’s cellphone and the last call was made from Dabaspet. Since the culprits used his cellphone, the police do not have leads about them. The police have questioned Bera’s employees, but do not suspect anybody’s involvement.
Tiff with contractor
The police initially suspected that a building construction engineer might have a motive to kill Bera. Engineer Shivakumar was interrogated on Thursday after Bera’s family said he had an argument with Bera on Tuesday over the construction of a house on Avenue Road.
The building has been under construction for two years and Bera had instructed Shivakumar to ensure it’s completed on time so that his family could move into the new house. Bera’s family is living in a rented accommodation now, and the house owner had asked them to vacate the house in two months, said Bera’s brother Utpal.
On Tuesday, Shivakumar had stopped work at the site, and had an argument with Bera. But on interrogating Shivakumar, the police said the family’s allegation was not convincing.
Funeral
Bera’s body was brought to his house at 3.44 pm on Thursday. The body was earlier taken to BRN Jewellery Shop on Avenue Road. A police officer said he was surprised to see the crowd near the shop. Many neighbourhood shopkeepers came to pay their respects to Bera. The body was taken to Wilson Garden crematorium at 5 pm, police said.
The postmortem report will be ready in two days, said the police.
A pall of gloom had descended over the Bera household on Thursday. Seeing the entire family in tears, Bera’s children, who were oblivious to the gravity of the situation until then, began crying.
Three-year-old Nilima burst into tears when she saw an inconsolable Uma. Eight-year-old Nilesh, who was playing till his father’s body was brought home, too, began crying. He said: “I do not know what happened to papa, but they told me he is dead and won’t be with me anymore.”
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