We want Souvik to live: Sumana Sarkar

The controversial Facebook post of class XI student Souvik Sarkar had triggered unrest between two communities here on July 4. The house of Souvik's paternal uncle Bablu Sarkar, where Souvik used to stay, was also damaged. The family has been living at different places since.

On August 11, police claimed that there was a possibility that an acquaintance of Souvik, who had helped him sign up to the social media platform, had his password and could have been the one who put up the controversial post.

Bablu's daughter, Sumana Sarkar, an second year MA student, decided to talk to DNA at an undisclosed location about how her life has changed.

"It has shook me badly. I still wake up in the middle of the night at the slightest sound. I have not met my father since July 4. I have been living with my grandmother here, whereas my mother and father are living at different places. I get to see my mother sometimes though," she said.

Sumana's academic pursuit has also gone haywire. "I had submitted my forms and fees for my second year MA exam but could not submit my testimonials physically because all my degrees were burnt on that fateful night," Sumana said, adding that she would like the state government to help her and her family settle down and ensure that she does not lose a year academically.

She recalled that there were thousands of people who had come looking for Souvik that night. "The entire place in front of our house was swarming with people who wanted to hang Souvik. We did not even know that he had escaped from the back door," Sumana said.

Later, she said that when Baduria police station was attacked by an angry mob, all police officials had escaped the place and only her father, who the mob was looking for, had hidden in one of the stores on the first floor.

"He had called mother on her phone and told her that the mob had burnt police vehicles and he might die in another 15 minutes and asked her to take care of my brother and myself. It was a miracle that protesters did not find him that day," Sumana added as tears welled up in her eyes.

Bablu's brother-in-law, Avinash Mondal, who had helped his family during troubled times, said that they were too afraid to return. They are still too terrified to return home. "Their house was attacked even in the presence of police, thus the fear. How can the damage be undone now even if Souvik is proved to be innocent?" he told DNA.

He also said that he did not trust the state government and wanted the Centre to do something for Souvik. "If the Modi government takes his responsibility, Souvik might live for some more days. If he returns to his home, he is likely to be lynched. The state government doesn't have enough manpower to guard him round the clock and it is not that he is some kind of VVIP that he will be given state security. If he is killed, the state government will give him compensation, but we want him to live," Mondal said.

He added that when Bablu had proposed to build his house at Baduria he had warned him against it but Bablu had not listened. "His is the only house of a Hindu there and the rest belong to people from other communities. I had forewarned him of the likelihood of such a situation before he built the house," Mondal said.