Bound, gagged body found in locked flat in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: Tension gripped a Vatva society on Wednesday after a decomposing body of an unidentified man, bound and gagged, was found inside a locked rented flat in Satej Homes near Vatva Gamdi Road. The man, believed to be 40 years old, was not the flat’s tenant, Vatva police said.

The first-floor flat had been rented out in March this year to four tenants, according to the FIR lodged with Vatva police by Rishabh Sharma, a sales executive and son of the flat owner.

On Tuesday night, the society chairman had called up Sharma’s father about a foul smell from the apartment. Initially suspecting it to be a dead animal, the family decided to inspect it the next morning. Sharma reached the flat around afternoon on Wednesday with broker Sahil Solanki. Since it was locked from outside and the stench was unbearable, they broke open the lock with help of neighbours, the FIR states.

Upon entering, they found the door of the master bedroom ajar. Inside, an unidentified man’s body was lying face down on a mattress. Police said both his hands were tied behind his back with cloth and nylon ropes. A piece of cloth, a rope and a belt were tied around one leg while a cloth was tied around his mouth and knotted at the back.

The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, with insect infestation indicating that the man had been dead for several days. While Sharma told police he did not recognize the deceased, the broker stated that the man had accompanied the tenants when they had initially come to rent the flat.

Vatva police said the tenants of the house will also be questioned as part of the investigation in this murder case.