Kolkata Class 12 student found dead at apartment complex in Ballygunge

The police registered a case of murder on Sunday after a teenager was found dead with multiple injuries at an apartment in Kolkata.

Class 12 student, Aabesh Dasgupta, was found lying in a pool of blood in the garage of an apartment complex in South Kolkata’s Ballygunge on Saturday. The teen had reportedly gone to attend a birthday party at the house of writer Amit Chaudhuri.

“A murder case has been initiated. A post-mortem examination is being conducted. Prima facie, it appears the death was caused due to massive bleeding,” said a police officer.

Aabesh was later declared dead at a hospital. The blood-covered neck of a broken bottle was found from the spot.

Alleging that cover-up attempts were being made, the boy’s mother demanded interrogation of all those who attended the birthday party.

“At the hospital, all the kids said they did not see anything, they all are saying they are unaware. How can this happen? It was a party, a murder happened and none of them know anything? How is that possible?” Aabesh’s mother Rimjhim Dasgupta asked.

“Police should interrogate all the kids, only then the truth will come out,” she added.

Aabesh’s father is Saugata Banerjee, an assistant director to Sandip Ray, reported  The Indian Express . Banerjee had passed away on 14 February, 2016 and since then, the 17-year-old had become quiet, the report added. Further, the report said that Aabesh’s grandmother was the first to be informed about the incident.

According to another report by The Indian Express , initially, the police suspected the involvement of another 17-year-old, who they detained. With conflicting testimonies from witnesses, the police decided to wait for the postmortem report. The Indian Express report also added that the police collected CCTV footage from the apartment complex and also recorded testimonies of guests and the security guards.

The Telegraph , meanwhile, reported that 17 teenagers had attended the party at Sunny Park Apartments and the police officer, who examined the remaining 16, was quoted as saying that Aabesh was holding a bottle under his left arm when he tripped and fell. The bottle broke injuring his armpit, added the officer.

Aabesh’s family claimed that their boy went to attend the birthday party of Chaudhuri’s daughter Aruna, while the writer claimed that his daughter and others in the group did not know Aabesh.

Chaudhuri, in a statement, said that the gathering that was meant to celebrate his daughter’s 18th birthday, “had not been organised by us, but by two of her school friends, and was completely unknown to my daughter until she returned home on Saturday after her tuition”.

He added that, “My daughter and, indeed, most of that group did not know the boy (Aabesh) who later died of an injury. He had not been invited by those who’d put together the occasion and had come with one of the five boys in the group.”