Aabesh kin refuse to accept ‘accident’ theory

KOLKATA: Rimjhim Dasgupta remained closeted in her Lake Avenue flat till Thursday evening, waiting for one phone call from the police that would tell her how her 17-year-old son died five days ago. The anticipated call did come at 7pm, asking her to reach Lalbazar. Around 8.30pm, the officer heading the probe told her, "Prima facie, it is an unfortunate accident, not a murder".
A stunned silence gave way to anger as it shattered all the hope that the 40-year-old mother was clinging to.Even as the police conclusion sank in, Dasgupta sat stone-faced.
She was told that these were findings of the preliminary probe and that the final viscera report was yet to be submitted. The officer even showed her and her brother, Hridesh Thakkar, who acompanied her to the police station, the CCTV footage that disclosed Aabesh tripping off a 2-feet-high sidewall of the parking lot on the western side of Block C; 20 seconds later, the boy was seen staggering back on his feet only to slump to the ground, bleeding. "I still don't believe it is an accident. It is a murder. The CCTV footage is incomplete. It does not show how he was injured. I will still fight to seek justice for my son," Dasgupta later said.
Thakkar, who remained by Dasgupta's side, said, "Even before the officer met us, he had briefed the reporters about the incident and TV channels had started showing it even as we waited outside the office of Vishal Garg. How could they do this?"
Back at the Lake Avenue house, Aabesh's grandmother alleged the police rushed through the case in an attempt to please the chief minister who had asked for a fast investigation. "First, the arrest of the liquor store owners and now, coming to a conclusion so early on that my grandson died of accident. I think the police hurried up the case in an attempt to please the chief minister," said Krishna Paul, Aabesh's grandmother. She remained emphatic about her belief: "It's a murder. Anyone with even limited common sense can tell it. All the children came up with same statements, which seemed rehearsed. Since they all come from influential families, the police have botched up the investigation and are terming it an accident."
Her husband, Santanu Paul, who is an action director in Tollywood, said he would meet the chief minister and would move court to seek justice. "We are not happy with the report. We will meet the chief minister and would even move court challenging the police's findings. I think it's a made-up case," Paul said.
Family sources claimed the investigators had told them in confidence on Wednesday evening that they had almost wrapped up the case and would call the family shortly. They, however, had not given any hint that the conclusion was heading towards "an accident". "Investigators had told us that they had got some vital clues and were almost done with tying up the loose ends. We were hoping to receive a call any time between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. But there was no hint about the ‘accident' as a for Aabesh's death even on Wednesday. How could their entire finding change in less than 24 hours?" the relative said.
The family did not receive any call from the police even till Thursday afternoon when Aabesh's uncle, Thakkar, called the deputy commissioner, detective department (II), Neelu Sherpa Chakraborty. The call was not answered. But the officer apparently called him back around 7 in the evening. "I asked her if we could come and meet her tomorrow. She, in turn, told me to pass the phone on to Rimjhim and asked her if she was in a position to visit Lalbazar and meet them. We left home in 10 minutes with a lot of hope," said Thakkar.