Elderly couple at cops' door with death wish

KOLKATA: For the past three years, they have been stumbling from door to door, shunned by their son and other relatives. Tired of shifting houses and struggling to eke out a living, Samar Moulik (75) and Bharati (62) have finally written to Baguiati police station asking for permission to commit suicide.
"Things have come to such a pass that we are on the brink of taking our lives.Nobody has done anything for us in the past three years. We wanted to let the administration know this by submitting this letter," Samar said.
The couple submitted a plea at Baguiati police station on Sunday. "We cannot live like this anymore. We want to commit suicide, but for the last time we are appealing so that we can get justice. Otherwise, we will have no other option left but to take the drastic step," the letter said.
A retired BHEL employee, Samar and his wife were living in Barasat's PK Bose Sarani at Hridaypur West as tenants for the past eight months. Samar was posted at Bhopal during his service years. The couple has two sons Shankar, a microbiologist who lives in South Africa and Soumen, who stays in Hridaypur and owns a shop. They also have a daughter, who is married and is settled in Lucknow.
The couple claimed that Samar had inherited a
9.5-cottah plot in Hridaypur. But their younger son Soumen allegedly grabbed the plot. The couple then started living in a small house constructed on a 5.5 cottah plot nearby, but Samar's elder brother Ranendra Narayan allegedly drove them out. That was about three years ago.
Since then, the couple stayed in many houses as tenants and went to the SDO, the DM, local party offices and the police station seeking justice.
Samar said that he did not receive any pension after retirement. "I only received a one-time lump-sum amount, half of which I had invested in a mutual fund when I was in Bhopal. I later found that I had been cheated and lost the money. I had invested the rest as post office savings," he said.
A few days ago, Samar met old friend Prabhat Das, a resident of Baguiati's Deshbandhunagar who is still with BHEL. Samar told him about their plight and said he was running out of money. Prabhat then asked Samar and his wife to come over to his house.
On Sunday afternoon, the couple finally decided to submit the statement to the police. " I have received the letter and have sent them home for now. We will look into the matter," said Baguiati police inspector-in-charge Gautam Mitra.
Elder brother Ranendra claimed that the couple had no legal right to the property under question. "They have already filed a case in court and the matter is sub judice. Why did they submit this letter to the police then? Their son Soumen is very poor as his shop isn't doing well. So he can't look after his parents. They had neglected their son in his youth. So what are they complaining about now?"