The BMW 6-series car for which its 72-year-old owner, Kalyan Bhattacharya, had allegedly been killed has not been claimed by anyone in the family, police said.
The vehicle, which Bhattacharya had bought six months ago for Rs 80 lakh, has been lying unclaimed outside Nagerbazar police station.
In case of road accidents or motor vehicle thefts, recovered vehicles are claimed either by the owners or the next of kin if the owner has passed away.
“In the BMW case, none of the family members of the deceased has come forward to claim the vehicle. Relatives have told us verbally that they fear something bad might happen to them if they take the vehicle home because it had caused Bhattacharya’s death,” said an officer at the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate.
The police said recovered or seized vehicles that have no claimants are sent to dump yards after a stipulated period and then auctioned off.
“But that is a lengthy process. For the time being, we will wait for someone in the family to come and claim the car. The vehicle is also a piece of evidence in the murder case as its theft establishes the motive of the murder,” said the officer.
Sourav Mondal, who had been hired by Bhattacharya to drive the BMW car, allegedly stole the vehicle and murdered the elderly man after he refused to give his car to the accused for a fun trip to Digha with friends.
Bhattacharya’s decomposed body was found in his house in Nagerbazar on September 20. Mondal was arrested a few days later.
The victim, who was unmarried, lived alone in the house.
Mondal’s DNA samples have been collected. “We will try to find out whether they match the samples collected from a cigarette butt found at the spot,” said an officer.
“We have recovered Bhattacharya’s laptop, handycam and a few more articles from the house of Sourav Mondal. Some jewellery and a few keys that were missing from the residence of the deceased have also been recovered,” the officer said.
