Stories of cannibalism have appeared in literature before, from Mohammad Nazim Uddin’s novel Tagore Never Ate Here to British author Piers Paul Read’s Alive, which recounts how survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash were forced to consume human flesh to survive. While the Korowai tribe of Indonesia’s Papua province has historically been associated with such practices, they are now considered a thing of the past. Against this backdrop, an incident reported from West Bengal has drawn serious concern from both locals and the police.
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A case registered under the Sahebganj police station area of Dinhata subdivision has raised disturbing questions after an unidentified person was allegedly murdered with the intent of consuming human flesh. According to initial findings, the victim was killed, the body was washed with water, and an attempt was allegedly made to eat the flesh. When that failed, the body was dumped in an open field. Police have described the case as one of the rarest crimes they have encountered.
The incident came to light last Saturday afternoon when police recovered the throat-slit body of an unidentified person from Kurshahaat, a border-adjacent area under Sahebganj police station. During the investigation, police learned that the deceased had been living in a local crematorium for over a year and was reportedly mentally unstable. The lack of CCTV cameras in the isolated area initially made the investigation difficult.
Based on local information and intelligence, police arrested Firdaus Alam (34). During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the murder and provided disturbing details. Police said that after killing the man, he brought the body to his home and washed it with tap water.
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Police call it a rarest-of-rare crime
Dinhata SDPO Dhiman Mitra said on Monday that Firdaus Alam is a resident of Saraithana village in the same area. He added that interrogation and eyewitness accounts indicated an intention to consume the body. “Characteristics of cannibalism have been found in this incident. It is a very rare crime. The investigation is ongoing. The accused has been taken into four-day police remand,” Mitra said. He also noted that the accused remains intoxicated most of the time and has been making incoherent statements, though no evidence has yet been found to establish mental instability.
Arrest made from rehabilitation centre
According to sources from Sahebganj and Pundibaari police stations, Firdaus Alam was arrested on Sunday afternoon from a rehabilitation centre in Chakchaka, under the Pundibaari police station area. Following Saturday’s incident, his family reportedly admitted him to the centre the same night, without informing the facility about the murder. He was sent there on the grounds that he had caused disturbances at home. Police sources added that he had previously stayed at the same rehabilitation centre and that there were earlier allegations of assault against a local woman, though no formal complaint was filed at the time.
