A woman identified as a cousin of Mira Bhattacharya, wife of former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, has reportedly been found to be living on the streets at Dunlop area in Kolkata. It is not yet known why the woman, identified as Ira Basu, has been living on a footpath over the past two years.
Preliminary medical tests show that the woman is not mentally sound and requires medical attention. She was earlier a resident of Baranagar area but later moved to Lichu Bagan area at Khardah in North 24 Parganas district. Local residents would give her food, but she left the place and was recently found living on the streets in Dunlop.
On Thursday, the Khardah municipality officials received information about a woman, who is a cousin of Mira Bhattacharya, living on the streets.
Khardah municipality executive officer Sushanta Mondal told News18, “Last night, we got information about Ira Basu and rescued her around 10 pm. It was found that she is not mentally sound and, therefore, we got her admitted at Lumbini Park Mental Hospital.”
“I am coordinating with hospital staff about her health and we are hopeful that she will recover soon,” he added.
Officials said Ira joined Priyanath Girls High School, Khardah, in 1976 as a biology teacher and, on June 28, 2009, she retired. Back then, Ira was staying at the house of Nalini Deb, who was the headmistress of the school in 1976, they added.
Officials further said there was no information on her marital status, and that there was no proof if she held a PhD in virology. She was not getting her pension because she had failed to submit her academic degrees to the state education department despite repeated reminders, they added.
According to reports, Ira told local residents that she was a state-level athlete and played table tennis and cricket, but there was no proof of her claims.
Krishnakali Chanda, headmistress of Priyanath High School, said, “Ira Basu used to teach here and retired in 2009. We worked on her pension, but the process was put on hold because she failed to submit any educational documents required to get the pension. She claimed that she did a PhD in virology, but failed to produce any documents. She also failed to produce any other certificates or documents required to initiate the process of her pension. It is unfortunate that she is living on the streets. We all pray for her good health.”
Tapas Roy, deputy chief whip of the Trinamool Congress in the assembly and Baranagar MLA, said, “I heard about the matter and I am looking into it. We will do whatever required to help the woman.”
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s cousin Malavika Chatterjee told News18, “Yes, I know about the matter (about Ira Basu), but as far as I know she is not Mira’s own sister. Maybe she (Ira) is her (Mira) cousin. I pray for her healthy life.”
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