Kolkata: Cops find man staying with dad’s body at Garfa home for 3 months

KOLKATA: A 40-year-old man was found living with his father’s decomposed body at his Garfa house around 11.30am on Monday.
The man, Kaushik Dey, told cops that his father, Sangram (70), a retired employee of the non-scientific wing of a leading atomic research institute in Salt Lake, had passed away almost three months ago. Dey’s mother, who has been paralysed for the last few years, also lives at the house.
This incident brings back the memories of the Robinson Street incident in 2015 when a man was found living with the corpse of his sister and the carcasses of two dogs for several months.
Cops said they will wait to ascertain the exact time of Sangram’s death. “We have come to know that the man had informed one of his neighbours about the death of his father on November 2. We will wait for the post-mortem report to find the reason behind his death and the time when it took place,” said an officer.
Cops recorded the statement of Sangram’s wife and she told cops that her son, who was unemployed, paid no heed to her when she asked for the cremation of her husband’s body. He told her that his father had a “social death” and that in “absolute realism” he was “very much alive and would wake up soon.” Cops suspect that the man is “mentally ill” and said that they would seek an advice from doctors and psychiatrists before making the next move.
The DC (SSD), Radhid Munir Khan, said some neighbours claimed not to have seen Sangram since the time of Vishwakarma Puja. “Sangram and his wife used to order roti and cooked vegetables from a local eatery run by Sunil Kar who was paid on a periodic basis. Of late, their son, Kaushik, was visiting the shop and ordering lesser number of rotis. On being asked about his father, he would give vague answers like he remained indoors due to his illness. However, it was from Kar that we received the news and decided to check,” said an officer.
DC Khan said that the pension received by Sangram each month had not been withdrawn in the past three months. Cops are checking the banking transactions of both Sangram and Kaushik to check whether there was any foul play. They are checking the life certificate to find if there is any forgery. “So far, we have not found any foul play,” said the officer.
“Kaushik told us that his father had withdrawn Rs 30,000 earlier. He and his mother had been living on this money in the past several weeks. Sangram had built the single-storey house in 2001 and he had been residing here for the past 20 years,” the officer added.