Son kept relatives in dark over cremation

KOLKATA: It took three years for Ruma Chakraborty, 40, to get the answer to a simple question she had been asking her cousin Subhabrata after her mashi (aunt) died on April 7, 2015. The shocking revelation — that her aunt’s body was preserved in a freezer— was not something she had ever thought would be the answer.
Chakraborty is the daughter of Bina Majumdar’s sister with whom the Majumdars had little contact since her death at Behala Balananda Brahmachari Hospital and Research Centre.After the news surfaced that Bina’s son Subhabrata had preserved her body all the while on the ground floor of the same house they had been staying in, Chakraborty was contacted by the police and since then, she has been with the family, looking after Subhabrata’s father and helping the family with all the formalities.
“I was there at the hospital when aunt had died. She had suffered a cardiac arrest. But as we were about to call a hearse and discuss where to take her for cremation, Subhabrata said that he was still not prepared to cremate her. He said he needed some time to come in terms with the loss and suggested of preserving the body at Peace Haven for a few days. We agreed as he never listened to anyone else,” said Chakraborty, a resident of Tollygunge.
The Chakrabortys had accompanied the family when Bina’s body was taken to Peace Haven on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road in a hearse from the hospital in Behala. “After her body was kept there, we returned home and promised to be with them once he takes the body out for cremation,” she said on Friday.
However, inspite of repeated calls over the next two days, Subhabrata kept on telling her that he was not ready yet until he suddenly told her on the third day that he had already cremated her.
“I used to call uncle and Subhabrata at least twice everyday to know when they were planning to take the body out for cremation. While uncle said Subhabrata would decide everything, my cousin kept telling me he was not ready yet. On the third day, when I called Subhabrata again, he suddenly said that he had taken out the body in the morning and had already cremated it,” said Chakraborty, standing outside Majumdars’ house on Friday. She had come to drop Gopal Chandra Majumdar at his home after a visit to the morgue in the evening.
However, didn’t it strike Chakraborty about how could Subhabrata do that without informing any of the relatives? “It did strike me but then again, we knew Subhabrata was insane. In fact, we used to refer him as pagla (madman). It was possible for him to do anything. In any case, there were not too many relatives who were in touch with him. We thought he didn’t want us to interfere in their family matter and so we didn’t bother him. But the question indeed kept bothering me why he did this. I got the answer on Thursday morning when police called me up. It was a bolt from the blue,” said Chakraborty.