Police detained a man for reportedly living with his mother’s dead body for four to five days in the Salt Lake area on the eastern fringes of Kolkata.

The incident came to light after the police broke open the door of the house of the accused late on Sunday night after a local resident informed them that the accused came to his house and told him that his mother has died about five to six days ago.

“On Sunday night, we received a call from Tarun Kumar Porel, a resident of Beadon Street of Salt Lake that the accused Maitro Bhattacharya (30) has come to his house and said that his mother Krishna Bhattacharya (about 77) died five to six days ago,” said a senior officer of the local Bidhannagar City Police.

Following the call, officials from Bidhannagar North Police Station went to the house of the accused along with Porel.

The police broke open the door and found the highly decomposed body of Krishna Bhattacharya inside a room.

“Accordingly, he (Porel) informed Bidhannagar North Police Station. When our officials reached the spot they found that the premises was under lock and key and the dead body of his mother is lying inside the room in highly decomposed condition” police sources said.

Soon after in presence of the accused the body was sent to a local hospital.

However, police sources said that the reason behind the death was yet to be ascertained as the post mortem report has not arrived yet.

“We have lodged a case of unnatural death in relation to the incident and currently interrogating Maitro Bhattacharya,” police sources said.

They also said that during interrogation Maitro told them that his mother asked him not to cremate her but to bury her body inside the house.