A day after arresting a man and a woman, both in their 20s, for the murder of a 33-year-old chartered accountant at a Kolkata hotel, the police are trying to join together the pieces of evidence to figure out what happened in the hotel room on the night of November 21.
The questioning of the two arrested accused – Dhruvo Mitra and Kamal Saha – has so far revealed that the two knew each other from their teenage years and had a joint account on Bumble dating app, where they claimed to be a couple.
Sources in the police said that 33-year-old Adarsh Losalaka had matched with the couple’s profile on November 20 and agreed to meet them in a hotel.
Police had earlier found that Adarsh Losalaka had booked two rooms at the Kasba hotel. The three checked into the hotel almost at the same time, around 9 pm on Friday (November 22). CCTV footage from the hotel showed Adarsh entering one room, while Dhruvo and Kamal entering the other, both on the fourth floor of the hotel building. Half an hour later, around 9.30 pm, Dhruvo and Kamal were seen entering Adarsh’s room.
Around 2.30 am, Dhruvo and Kamal were seen leaving Adarsh’s room and then checking out of the hotel. The next afternoon, on November 22, Adarsh was found dead with his legs tied with a towel and a deep gash on the back of his head. There were no clothes on his body. The post-mortem report concluded that he was strangulated.
The police are trying to piece together those five hours when Adarsh, Dhruvo, and Kamal were in the same room.
“The room’s condition, the bed, food, and furniture scattered around the room indicated that there was a fight inside the room,” Joint Commissioner of Police Rupesh Kumar said on Monday.
Earlier, the police had said that condoms were recovered.
“According to the accused, there was a party in Adarsh’s room. They had ordered food online. They also said that they had a scuffle with Adarsh in which the 33-year-old CA fell and became unconscious. They claim they panicked and left the room after collecting Adarsh’s ATM card and all the cash in his wallet and his two cellphones,” the senior
police officer said.
Police have found that the two booked a car and reached Ultadanga, where they withdrew Rs 11,000 from an ATM using Adarsh’s bank card. They then roamed around on a local train.
“The motive and why the clash took place is still under investigation,” said Joint CP Kumar.
With the police having recovered the two mobile phones of Adarsh and also seized the cellphones of both the accused, they are planning to send them for forensic analysis.
“All four cellphones will be sent to forensics for detailed examination as all the apps on the phone have been deleted.. Once the forensic analysis report comes, we will then get to know the exact conversations the three had with each other,” said Kumar, adding that when police recovered Adarsh’s phones, they found that his WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and other chat accounts were deactivated.
Police are also trying to find out how long the accused and Adarsh had been on the dating app.
A senior police officer said that it has come to light that the couple, who lived in a rented flat in Dum Dum, had previously met other persons through the dating app and provided sexual services.
“Both Dhruvo and Kamal studied in the same school in Barrackpore and have known each other since Class XI. Their families also know each other,” said a police source.
Dhruvo, according to police, worked as a delivery agent.