Laws are there and law enforcement agencies are there, yet an elderly couple subjected to endure inhuman torture, beatings and abandonment allegedly unleashed the couple’s son and his spouse.
The heart wrecking tale of the couple – Harilal Das (80+) and his wife Bishnu Priya Das (70+) – came to the fore after they decided to knock the Court’s door in Belonia under the South Tripura District recently.
The couple hails from Subhas Nagar Gram Panchayat under the Belonia sub-division. The Das family is like other lower-middle class family who toiled hard to raise their son, Sanjoy Das as well as constructed a house. They also own a rubber plantation with 400 rubber trees.
“Life was pretty simple for us. However, everything horribly changed after Sanjoy was married to a girl, Pinki Dey around seven years ago”, recalled Bishnu Priya Das.
Sanjoy and wife started misbehaving with us and situation took a turn for worse, Bishnu Priya said adding that Sanjoy and Pinki gradually began to inflict mental torture upon the elderly couple which soon culminated in physical assaults.
“We endured their abusive treatment and even physical assaults out of parental affection and social stigma”, Harilal Das said.
A sobbing Harilal added, they thrashed us and drove out of our residence around five years ago even as I am the owner of the property and house.
“We took refuse to someone’s house at Kadamtala and endured a lot of hardships for five years hoping that good senses would prevail and our son will take us back – but our hope did not materialized”, Bishnu Priya said.
She continued, “Finally, the parental affection to son, daughter in law and grandson took a back seat. We decided to file complaint with Women’s Police Station to claim our rights. We filed a complaint on August 29, 2023. Ironically, our pursuit of justice encountered another roadblock as police personnel failed to visit the scene or conduct an investigation”.
With dwindling hope and a desperate desire to reclaim their property and lead a dignified life, the Das Couple turned to the Belonia Court, filing an appeal against their son and daughter-in-law.
“I have heard the Supreme Court passed a ruling making it a duty and legal obligation of a son to take care of elderly parents. If so, we want justice and exemplary punishment for Sanjoy and his wife, as well as the police personnel who failed to act upon our complaints,” Bishnu Priya Das commented in tired and exhausted tone.
This tragic case shines a spotlight on the pressing issue of elder abuse and the need for improved enforcement of laws protecting the aging individuals from their unruly children.
