2 weeks on, Ghatak's cinematographer's body still unclaimed

Mahendra Kumar, 81, acclaimed cinematographer and pioneer of silhouette animation in India, passed away in the city on October 3.

His body, however, has been lying unclaimed for a fortnight at the Kolkata Police’s morgue since authorities failed to trace his next of kin. Kumar is best known for his association with auteur Ritwik Ghatak.

A loner and a recluse, Kumar died at his Golf Garden residence in south Kolkata. His body was discovered by a neighbourhood tea seller, who regularly served him morning tea. While the tea seller informed the police, with no known relatives, the police are trying to ascertain whether there are any legal claimants to the body.

Some of Kumar’s friends and a group of students from the state-run Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute in Kolkata, where Kumar briefly instructed, tried to give him a proper funeral. The police, however, are unable to hand over the body to them due to legalities.

A senior police officer said in such cases, the rule is to put up an advertisement in newspapers, urging legal claimants to step forward and receive the body. “If no one turns up within a specified time, as determined by law, his body will be handed over to his friends and well-wishers who approached us with the proposal for the funeral,” the officer said.

While officials pointed out that they were unable to follow the due process in this case because they were busy with the Durga Puja arrangements, a section of people associated with the film industry, particularly fans of Ghatak, are enraged that instead of giving Kumar his due respect, the police have left the body rotting in the morgue.

A senior police officer said that last week, they were able to track down a nephew of Kumar in Delhi and are waiting for him to reach Kolkata to identify the body.

Originally from Himachal Pradesh, Kumar was born in erstwhile Burma and worked in various advertising agencies in Kolkata in the 1950s. A chance meeting with Ghatak led him to join the auteur as a cinematographer, working in most of his award-winning films. Kumar was also instrumental in raising funds to complete Ghatak’s acclaimed film Subarnarekha after the producer walked off the project midway.