Kin perform shraddh, say don’t want his death to become election agenda

Kolkata: Three days after the death of Arup Banerjee (40), his family members performed his shraddh on Monday. Inside their 3BHK flat at Jawpur in Dum Dum, his sister Arpita and nephew Adrito sat through the rituals, while relatives maintained a restrained presence. Outside, however, the scene told a different story. A steady stream of neighbours and acquaintances continued to arrive through the day, waiting patiently to pay a final homage to ‘Buchu' — the name by which Arup was known in the locality."My son died because of an administrative failure," cried Amal Kumar Banerjee (75), father of Arup, who died in the lift tragedy at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last week. "I know elections are around the corner and that is why multiple political parties are coming with promises. But I don't want my son's death to become an election agenda. I only want the failure that killed him to be corrected and those who denied him help at that critical moment to be punished," said Amal, breaking down as he spoke.Arup Banerjee was a contractual worker with the South Dum Dum Municipality and an active Trinamool Congress functionary. On Monday, the Banerjee family once again appealed to the state govt, urging that Arup's widow, Sonali, be given a permanent job to secure the future of their young son. "Sonali is well qualified. She has a Master's degree in Physics and a BEd," said Arup's cousin Ashish."Arup was supposed to take Sonali and Ayush on a vacation. They were so excited. The bags are still packed," said a relative, quoting his mother, Gayatri Banerjee, who remained behind closed doors throughout the day. "She feels like she can still hear him calling Maa.""I still remember how he carried a patient in his arms, who had suffered an accident, to the hospital. During Covid, he would run around all day arranging medicines for people stuck at home," said fellow party worker Santu Das.