Former caregiver fatally stabs 64-year-old DD ex-singer at home

Kolkata: A 64-year-old woman, an accomplished singer on Akashvani and Doordarshan, was fatally stabbed in her Behala flat on Monday morning allegedly by a woman who had worked as a caregiver for the victim's husband four years ago. Police said Sanju Sarkar assaulted Anita Ghosh multiple times after her demand for money was rejected.Ghosh's 75-year-old bedridden husband Arup Kumar Ghosh, who like his wife is a retired employee of Doordarshan, was in the second-floor flat at Priyadarshini housing complex, near Shakti Sangha Club, when she came under attack. The couple's son, Aritra Ghosh, who works in an IT firm, lives in an apartment in Joka.
Police detained Sarkar, the family's cook and the ayah who was on duty the previous night. Sarkar, a resident of Paschim Putiari, was later arrested. Cops said she admitted that she had stabbed Ghosh.Bimal Patra, a resident of Priyadarshini, said he heard cries of "amake bachao (save me)" a little after 8.30 am on Monday. "A few of us decided to check and we could identify the flat from where the desperate cry for help came. We knocked on the door. An ayah, who police later said was Sanju Sarkar, opened the door," Patra recounted. "We found Anita Ghosh lying near the bathroom amid blood. The ayah said she was in the flat at night and another ayah, who came in the morning, attacked her. We alerted the couple's son and their relatives. We also informed police and called an ambulance. All the while, the ayah was saying she had to leave because of a family emergency. We, however, blocker her way. Later, we came to know that she was the attacker," said neighbour Bimal Patra.Ghosh's son took her to a private hospital in Behala Manton, where she was declared dead.Deputy commissioner of police, (Behala-south-western division), Rahul De, said, "Sarkar told us that she worked in the flat as an ayah four years back."Rupesh Kumar, joint commissioner of police (crime and traffic), said Sarkar went to the flat around 8.30 am and demanded money from Ghosh. "Refused money, she took out a knife and assaulted the victim on her chin and abdomen. The victim tried to save herself. As a result, the accused, too, suffered a few injuries. Once the victim became unresponsive, Sarkar took gold ornaments and cash from the almirah. In the meantime... neighbours arrived at the spot and detained the accused before informing us," said Kumar.Cops are trying to find out whether Sarkar was sent to the victim's flat by any ayah centre. "Two caregivers work in the flat in shifts. They keep changing as they are sent by an ayah centre," said an officer.Amiya Kumar Ghosh, a relative of the elderly couple, said, "They kept a lot of cash at home for medical emergencies.""Buludi (Ghosh) was one of the first to move in here," said a neighbour, who has been living at Priyadarshini since 1994. "She rarely leaves her apartment because of her husband's ailment. But she would sing in all our cultural events. Of late, she complained of not getting trustworthy ayahs."