Kolkata, June 6 (IANS): The arrest of a youth on murder charges in West Bengal has unravelled a macabre tale of serial killings of middle-aged women followed by revelations on how he sexually abused the corpses, police said.

Kamaruzzaman Sarkar, a 37-year-old scrap dealer from Bengal's East Bardhaman was arrested last Sunday on the suspicion of murdering a woman in the district's Gaora village. His interrogations led the police to conclude that he was involved in the killing at least five other women.

According to police, the accused conducted a recce of an area for two-three days to find out whether the woman he wanted to target was alone at home. He is suspected to be involved in murders dating as far back as 2013.

He would then enter the house mostly in the afternoon posing as a power department employee and then attack the woman, hitting her with a blunt object on the head and then strangulating her with a bicycle chain.

Police said the accused had allegedly inserted sharp materials into the private parts of some of his victims following their death.

A senior officer from the district said they were looking for a serial killer since several women were murdered over the past few months in the area while some narrowly escaped attempts on their lives.

The cops had sensed a pattern in the killings though attempts like stealing money and other valuables were made to divert police's attention.

Sarkar, who lived with his wife, mother-in-law and three children in Burdwan district's Purbasthali area, has been remanded in 12-day police custody as the police want to interrogate him on his role in the other four murders.