Police arrest brother-in-law of woman whose severed head was found in garbage dump in Kolkata's Tollygunge

Kolkata: One person was arrested on Saturday in connection with the murder of a woman whose severed head was found in a garbage dump in south Kolkata's Tollygunge area, police said.

The arrested man was identified as Atiur Rahman Laskar, the brother-in-law of the deceased woman, they said.

Laskar had a relationship with the woman, who was separated from her husband two years ago, police said.

The woman worked as a domestic help in and around Regent Park, while the accused was a construction worker.

Police said they arrested Laskar from his native village, Basuldanga, in Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, and he confessed to murdering the woman during interrogation.

While the severed head of the woman was found in a garbage dump near Graham Road on Friday, the torso was found on Saturday at Regent Park. Several body parts are still missing, a police officer said.

The severed head was found within 12 hours of the crime being committed, he said.

"Our priority is to recover the remaining body parts and to know the exact motive behind the murder," the officer said.

"The accused first strangulated the woman, aged around 35-40, and then decapitated her with a sharp weapon. It is also being investigated if other people were involved," he said.

Complications in the relationship of the woman with his brother-in-law were suspected to be the cause of the murder, he added.

CCTV footage of the entire area is being scanned to ascertain if any vehicle was used to dispose of the body parts, the officer said.

The discovery of the severed head had sent shockwaves in the middle-class neighbourhood in the southern part of the city.