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13-06-2016, 11:56 AM
KOLKATA: Firemen broke into a smoke-filled apartment in Manicktala government colony on Friday midnight to a macabre sight — a 57-year-old woman covered in soot and kerosene watching TV as her husband lay burnt to death in the next room.
There was more surprise in store. When the cops arrived, they were shocked to find police helmets and even an old wireless radio in the elderly couple's Maruti Alto, which had 'police' stickers on the front and rear windshields. Suspecting that there is more to the case, Manicktala police have detained the wife, Sutapa Barat, and one of her male acquaintances.
Sutapa's husband Ranjit Kumar Barat, 63, retired as a senior official with CESC. Residents of the G wing, where the Barats also lived, saw thick smoke billowing out of a bedroom window of the Barats' flat on the second floor around 12.30am on Saturday. The alarm went out and people quickly gathered. They were all surprised that neither Ranjit or Sutapa were calling for help or responding to their shouts.
As more and more neighbours assembled outside the house, some of them decided to take action.
Nirmalya Dasgupta, a neighbour of the Barats, said: "We first called 100 but the response from Lalbazar wasn't prompt. We then called 101 and the fire department said they were sending help. To be doubly sure, some residents ran to Manicktala fire station and two fire engines arrived in five minutes."
Police also arrived. The rescue team doused the fire from outside and moved in to save the elderly couple. The door was bolted from inside. Firemen broke in, to be left speechless by the sight. "Imagine our shock when we found Ranjit lying in the second room, completely charred. The woman sat in the innermost room near the TV, barely breathing. Initially, she barely noticed us. She later claimed she shouted for help but none responded. We asked why she locked the door from inside and she said she was too scared to cross her husband's room," said an officer. In the evening, Sutapa changed her statement and said she "got panicky because her husband tried to kill her", say sources.
At least three neighbours recounted before police on Saturday how Sutapa had repeatedly told them "such a thing was bound to happen". There was no one else in the flat other than a pet cat. The couple's married daughter lives in Gurgaon, keeping little contact with her parents, say police.
Sutapa was found covered in kerosene, leading cops to wonder if it was a suicide pact or a murder plan gone awry. They hope the autopsy will help them decide whether to press murder charges. The cops are intrigued by what they found in the Barats' 12-year-old car. "There were 'police' stickers. Inside, there were old police helmets and on the dashboard, an old wireless set. These look like the property of Lalbazar," said an officer.
"We have contacted their daughter. His wife will be questioned," said DC-eastern suburban Debasmita Das.
There was more surprise in store. When the cops arrived, they were shocked to find police helmets and even an old wireless radio in the elderly couple's Maruti Alto, which had 'police' stickers on the front and rear windshields. Suspecting that there is more to the case, Manicktala police have detained the wife, Sutapa Barat, and one of her male acquaintances.
Sutapa's husband Ranjit Kumar Barat, 63, retired as a senior official with CESC. Residents of the G wing, where the Barats also lived, saw thick smoke billowing out of a bedroom window of the Barats' flat on the second floor around 12.30am on Saturday. The alarm went out and people quickly gathered. They were all surprised that neither Ranjit or Sutapa were calling for help or responding to their shouts.
As more and more neighbours assembled outside the house, some of them decided to take action.
Nirmalya Dasgupta, a neighbour of the Barats, said: "We first called 100 but the response from Lalbazar wasn't prompt. We then called 101 and the fire department said they were sending help. To be doubly sure, some residents ran to Manicktala fire station and two fire engines arrived in five minutes."
Police also arrived. The rescue team doused the fire from outside and moved in to save the elderly couple. The door was bolted from inside. Firemen broke in, to be left speechless by the sight. "Imagine our shock when we found Ranjit lying in the second room, completely charred. The woman sat in the innermost room near the TV, barely breathing. Initially, she barely noticed us. She later claimed she shouted for help but none responded. We asked why she locked the door from inside and she said she was too scared to cross her husband's room," said an officer. In the evening, Sutapa changed her statement and said she "got panicky because her husband tried to kill her", say sources.
At least three neighbours recounted before police on Saturday how Sutapa had repeatedly told them "such a thing was bound to happen". There was no one else in the flat other than a pet cat. The couple's married daughter lives in Gurgaon, keeping little contact with her parents, say police.
Sutapa was found covered in kerosene, leading cops to wonder if it was a suicide pact or a murder plan gone awry. They hope the autopsy will help them decide whether to press murder charges. The cops are intrigued by what they found in the Barats' 12-year-old car. "There were 'police' stickers. Inside, there were old police helmets and on the dashboard, an old wireless set. These look like the property of Lalbazar," said an officer.
"We have contacted their daughter. His wife will be questioned," said DC-eastern suburban Debasmita Das.
