Baruipur encountered man cremated quietly as family faces ostracism

Baruipur: The family of Prabash Mondal, who was killed in a police encounter on Wednesday, performed his last rites on Thursday morning, without any participation from local villagers, reflecting the deep social isolation they say they now face.Mondal’s body was handed over to his family after post-mortem and taken directly to Jora Mandir crematorium in Baruipur. The body was not brought back to the village.Mondal, allegedly involved in drug peddling and trafficking in South 24 Parganas, had worked as a cook but was not attached to any catering group. He was also named as a key accused in the rape-murder of a minor, a case that had left villagers angry and fearful.His family members said they had been living under intense social pressure since his arrest. His mother, Sandhya Mondal, said the family was being punished despite having no role in his alleged crimes. “Our neighbours stopped talking to us and we have been ostracised in the village. My son got the punishment for the crime he had committed. But we are not at any fault. My husband is sick with skin disease and he lost his mental balance about 20 years.

We don’t have financial strength to pay for his medical treatment. Now if I need any help for my husband none will come forward,” she said.Inside the family’s small hut, Mondal’s teenage son, wearing ’kacha gola’, the attire worn by the son of a deceased, was found sleeping in a corner after spending the night at the morgue. His mother, Chapa, said he had performed the last rites.“My child spent the whole night awake at morgue and he performed his father’s last rites,” she said, declining to disclose his name.Chapa said she and her son had performed the rites only to uphold social norms. “He is a criminal and he also tortured me when he was alive. But we cannot break the social norm. I and my son had to perform his last rites at the crematorium, though we detest him the most now,” she said.Sandhya broke down while appealing to villagers not to abandon them. “My son will not come back to terrorise the villagers anymore and we request them to be not indifferent to us.

We are not in a position to shift elsewhere,” she sobbed.After the last rites, cops were found patrolling in the village and keeping watch on the family. “My elder brother was warned several times but he did not listen to anyone of us. Had he reformed himself, he would not have lost his life like this,” said Prabash’s brother Debasish.