Sewage tank. (Representative Image)
Credit: iStock
Mangaluru: The Surathkal police have cracked the case of a 27-year-old worker from West Bengal who went missing in June and was later found dead in a sewage treatment plant (STP) tank in Surathkal.
Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C.H. identified the victim as Mukesh Mandal (27), a native of Ratua in Malda district, West Bengal. He went missing on the night of June 24 from a layout in Mukka, Surathkal. His co-worker, Dipankar, filed a missing complaint on July 2 at Surathkal police station.
On August 21, Mukesh’s decomposed body was discovered inside an STP tank at the same layout. Based on a complaint by a local resident, police registered a murder case under Sections 103(1) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Investigations revealed that Mukesh was murdered by Laxman Mandal alias Lakhan (30), also from Malda district. On June 24, the two were drinking inside an under-construction building when Mukesh allegedly showed Lakhan obscene videos of his wife stored on his phone. Enraged, Lakhan struck him with an iron rod, killing him on the spot. He then dumped the body into the nearby STP tank and covered the opening with plywood to hide the crime.
A police team tracked Lakhan across West Bengal and Tamil Nadu before bringing him back for questioning. On September 4, he confessed to the murder and was remanded to five days in police custody. Police said Lakhan already faced two assault cases at Ratua police station in West Bengal.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of ACP (North Sub-Division) Srikant K and Surathkal Police Inspector Pramod Kumar P, with PSI Shashidhar Shetty, ASI Rajesh Alva and other personnel on the team.