Salt Lake woman missing for 14 days, locked-in dad refuses to be rescued

KOLKATA: Police, civic officials and local residents in Salt Lake's BD Block are in a fix as a 72-year-old retired government official, locked in at his own house by his daughter for the past two weeks, is refusing to be rescued. The man, reportedly suffering from Alzheimer's disease, has been refusing any help, other than timely food and water, claiming his house may get 'taken over' if he leaves it.
Locals claimed that his daughter - a woman in her late 30s - left home around two weeks ago, after locking the main gate of the house. She didn't return till late on Friday.
Cops and the local councillor said that they knew about the situation. They claimed that both the man and the daughter are mentally disabled. With rumours about the first floor of the house being already sold to someone, none dared to break open the lock and rescue the man and continued to provide assistance from outside.
"We really don't know how to help him. I am alerting the mayor, SDO and the police commissioner about the situation," said Ratna Bhowmik, the local councillor.
According to locals, the woman had reportedly developed mental problems since her divorce and the loss of her mother in post-Covid complications. She even attempted to jump off the terrace two months ago but got stuck in a tree.
"I called the woman and she said she was in Delhi for a job. She had called a local - a man who irons clothes next to the house - and said she would send him money and asked him to feed her father. However, her number has been switched off for the past six days," said Shibu Dey, a local resident. No money was allegedly sent and the man stopped feeding him after a week. Amalendu Ghosh, a neighbour, is now feeding the man.
"The man himself doesn't want to be rescued. How can we break in? However, we have arranged policemen to look after the man 24x7," said a senior police officer.