Calcutta, Sept. 4 (The Telegraph): The bodyguard of a Calcutta businessman who is said to be a friend of Peter Mukerjea was being questioned tonight at a police station in Mumbai in the Sheena Bora murder case.

Sujit Mohan Sarkar, 35, was picked up from the Rajarhat house of Abhijit Sen on Thursday afternoon but his family did not know about it until this evening, police sources said.

The matter came to light when Sujit's wife went to Taltala police station this evening to enquire about her husband's whereabouts.

His employer Sen, whose businesses range from polyesters to seafood, could not be contacted to corroborate the information in spite of several attempts by this newspaper.

Neither in Mumbai nor in Calcutta have the police mentioned any connection between Sen or Sujit and the purported murder. Questioning does not mean a person is being viewed as a suspect.

Police sources said Sujit left his office yesterday afternoon after Sen called him to his Rajarhat house.

When Sujit's wife and sister approached Sen at his SN Banerjee Road office today, they said they were told that the bodyguard would return by the evening. He had not done so till late tonight.

Sujit had gone to Mumbai on office work, the family quoted Sen as telling them.

When The Telegraph dialled Sujit's number, the person who answered said he was Sujit and added: "I am at Khar police station. Amai jiggashabad korchhe (I am being questioned)."

A Mumbai police officer later confirmed that Sujit was in Mumbai but claimed he was not at Khar police station.

When Sujit spoke, someone was saying from the side: " Rakh dijiye... rakh dijiye (hang up, hang up)."

But Sujit managed to answer a few quick questions.

TT: Mr Sarkar?

Sujit: Yes.

TT: Where are you?

Sujit: At Khar police station.

TT: What do you do for Abhijit Sen?

Sujit: I am his bodyguard.

TT: Was your number part of Peter Mukerjea's call history?

Sujit: No, one of the servants working in Mukerjea's house had called me.

TT: How did the servant get your number... why did he call you?

Sujit: I don't know how my number reached him.... I can't talk any more. They are asking me not to speak on the phone."

Sujit disconnected the line at 10.33pm.

At 10.38pm, Sujit called this paper.

TT: What is the police asking you?

Sujit: They are asking me questions related to the Sheena Bora murder case.

TT: What questions?

Sujit: They are asking me how my number reached the Mukerjea family.

TT: How did your number reach the Mukerjea family?

Sujit: I don't know.

TT: When will the police let you go?

Sujit: I have no idea. They are questioning me through the day. I don't know how long I shall have to be here.

Sujit disconnected the line again, saying the police were asking him not to speak. That he was being allowed to use the phone suggests he had not been arrested.

An officer at Taltala police station said his colleagues had confirmed with their counterparts in Mumbai that Sujit was in the western metropolis.

Sujit's family got in touch with him once last night when he said he was at a hotel but did not mention the city. When they contacted him this morning, he said he was sleeping and disconnected the line.

Sujit's wife, a receptionist at Sector V, first went to Beleghata police station because the family lives there.

She was told to go to Taltala as Sujit was last seen at the office of Elque Polysters (a name cited by the police), of which Sen has been described as the managing director, on 85 SN Banerjee Road. An Internet search revealed that the name of the company had been changed to Sen Pet (India) Ltd.

Said a resident of 85 SN Banerjee Road, which has offices as well as apartments: "I have seen Sujit several times with Sen here and gathered that he is the businessman's bodyguard. Sujit is a big man, about six feet tall."

At Beleghata, Sujit's relatives said he ran a security agency called "Shark". Sujit's sister said he was a karateka.

On SN Banerjee Road, five offices of the Sen group are spread over the ground and first floors. The group also has offices at 10 Crooked Lane, off Dacres Lane, which, an employee said, are run by Sen's brother.

Sen and his father were active on Calcutta's social circuit. Their family home at Queen's Park in south Calcutta has seen several high-profile events, especially by Bengal Initiative, an organisation focused on reviving industry in Bengal. The Mukerjeas used to live in Queen's Park once but it's not known whether the two families knew each other.

According to one account, the Sen family shares its lineage with Gouri Sen, the legendary businessman from 18th-century Bengal. Lore has it Gouri spent so much on charity that it led to the saying " lage taka toh debe Gouri Sen", meaning that if one needed money, Gouri Sen was there to provide it.

Photo credit: The Telegraph