Decomposed body found inside hotel room in Park Street

A decomposed body of a young man was found hidden inside a bed box in a hotel room in Kolkata’s Park Street area on Friday morning, triggering panic and curiosity among staff and guests.

Police suspect the man may have been murdered inside the hotel room before his body was concealed under the bed. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed only after the post-mortem examination, police said. The incident took place at a hotel on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, under the jurisdiction of Park Street police station. According to police sources, the room had been rented for a few hours on 22 October by three men. Soon after checking in, one of them left the hotel, while the other two stayed back in the room. Later that night, the man who had stepped out returned briefly and left again with another person. Since then, the third person—later found dead—was untraceable.

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The matter came to light when a new guest rented the same room on Friday morning. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by a foul odour. On alerting the hotel authorities, staff members searched the room and traced the smell to the bed. Police were called, and upon opening the bed box, they discovered the decomposed body of a man. The deceased was later identified as Rahul Lal, a resident of the Picnic Garden area, who reportedly lived with his maternal uncle. Police are now trying to trace the two men who had accompanied Rahul to the hotel.

Officers from Park Street police station have started scanning CCTV footage from the hotel and nearby areas to determine the sequence of events and identify the suspects. Investigators believe that Rahul may have been killed in the room on the night of 22 October and the body hidden under the bed to avoid detection. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to determine the cause and time of death.

“We are waiting for the autopsy report, which will help us establish whether it was a case of murder or something else,” said a senior police officer. The gruesome discovery has shocked the busy Park Street locality, which houses several hotels, restaurants, and offices. Police have tightened security checks in the area and are verifying the identities of recent guests who stayed at the hotel during the past week.