KOLKATA: A 26-year-old yoga instructor, allegedly addicted to online gaming, was found strangled in her sister’s vacant flat in Baranagar, with police now probing whether a dispute linked to PUBG and a possible spiritual ritual led to her murder.The investigation took a significant turn on Thursday with the arrest of a prime suspect, believed to be the victim’s online gaming partner, from a hideout in Delhi.Police are also examining the possibility of organised crime and the involvement of multiple assailants. CCTV footage has captured several unidentified youths loitering near the crime spot around Shitala Mata Lane in Lakepally, raising suspicion that more than one person may have been involved.“Preliminary probe suggests the accused was an online gaming partner of Anjali. He will be brought to Baranagar on transit remand,” an officer said.The victim, Anjali Shaw, a resident of Dunlop, was found dead on the bed inside a fourth-floor flat on Tuesday night. Her family had alerted neighbours after she stopped answering calls. Police from Baranagar police station broke open the door and recovered her body, which bore multiple injuries, including a deep wound around the neck.The preliminary post-mortem findings indicated that Anjali was hit on the head and pushed against a wall before being strangled. She was also punched in the face, causing injuries.The flat belonged to her brother-in-law, who had recently shifted to Serampore in Hooghly with Anjali’s elder sister. He had left the keys with a neighbour, Latika Manna, and Anjali collected them on Tuesday afternoon before entering the flat.Her family alleged that her purse, mobile phone, wristwatch, ring, bracelet and earrings were missing. They also claimed that the clothes she was wearing were torn and that she had been strangled with a white scarf.Gaming partner, spiritual ritual under scannerAnjali’s father, Rajendra Prasad, told police that she had developed an addiction to PUBG around a year-and-a-half ago, when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Despite objections from family members, she continued playing online games and developed contacts with several unidentified people through gaming platforms, he reportedly said.Rajendra alleged that a young man she had met through an online game had spoken to her about performing a spiritual ritual. Police are examining whether this conversation had any connection with her visit to the vacant flat on Tuesday.“We are examining the online gaming angle,” Kuntal Bandyopadhyay, DCP (South), Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, told TOI.The family is also questioning whether the murder could be connected to Rajendra’s political activities. He is a BJP functionary and suspects that his involvement in politics may have played a role.Missing phone sends threatening messages after murderThe missing mobile phone has emerged as a crucial lead, with the family claiming that it was used to send threatening messages and make WhatsApp calls after Anjali’s body was recovered.Shivam Shaw, her cousin, said the family received at least three threatening messages and WhatsApp calls from her number. One WhatsApp call was made to her mother at 3.58 pm on Wednesday and lasted 13 seconds, but there was no response from the other end. The phone was switched off soon afterwards.Anjali’s father also told police that he received a message reading “Hamko le jao. Hum phas gaye barish mein” (Take me away. I am stranded in the rain) from her number at 3.45 pm on Tuesday. Police suspect she may already have been murdered by the time the message was sent.Another message reading “Hi” was sent to his phone at 2.38 pm on Wednesday. The family also claimed that when they messaged Anjali’s number after discovering her death, they received a reply: “Whatever you want to know or ask, you will get an answer if you ask.”Another alleged message read: “I am among you, but you will not be able to catch me.”Police are trying to establish who was using the handset after the murder. Investigators had earlier traced its last tower location to Bihar. The family suspects that a young man known to Anjali could be in possession of the phone. Police have advised relatives against responding to further messages and asked them to preserve screenshots.Investigators are scanning CCTV footage from the residential complex and surrounding areas to establish who entered and left the building. They are also examining whether valuables were taken as part of a robbery or whether the murder was linked to a personal relationship.A senior Barrackpore police officer said the flat’s locking mechanism could be operated from outside, making it necessary to establish whether the door had been locked from inside or outside.Police are questioning family members, relatives and friends as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing. The arrest of the suspected gaming partner and the possibility of multiple assailants have added new dimensions to the probe.
