Former Kolkata Police Commissioner's ex-wife, mother-in-law found dead in Salt Lake; probe ordered

In what comes as a shocking development, the ex-wife and the mother-in-law of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha have both been found dead under mysterious circumstaces at their Salt Lake residence. Their bodies were recovered from inside a locked room at the house in BE Block, Salt Lake, in the Bidhannagar area of the city. Soon after this, the news spread like wildfire in the region.

The deceased have been identified as Papia Dey (79) and Sharmistha Kar Purkayastha (60).

According to sources, both of them had been unwell since a long time. Locals corroborate that the duo had not been interacting with neighbours for a while, but they had not been seen at all outside of their residence since two days. Even relatives were not able to contact them.

Suspicions festered in the region since all doors and windows at the residence remained shut from the inside and no one could reach out to the duo. Finally, the locals contacted the police on Saturday evening. The cops later recovered the bodies of the deceased after breaking down the locked doors.

The deceased were at first taken to the Bidhannagar Hospital and later sent to the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Shyambazar for an autopsy. It has been known that Papia Dey, the former Police Commissioner's ex wife, was discharged from a hospital three days ago after she had undergone an operation. She was even under the radar of the Health Department.

The police have launched an investigation into the matter, based on the results of the post-mortem examination. Authorities are also checking the possibility if the duo had died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It is to be noted that  State Security Advisor (SSA) & former Bengal DGP Surajit Kar Purkayastha had seperated from his wife quite a few years ago.