I have lost all reason to live: Aabesh's mom

KOLKATA: Rimjhim Dasgupta was still grappling with the death of her husband Swagata four months ago when another tragedy struck on Saturday. At 7.14pm, she received a call that will haunt her for life. Her son, Aabesh, had mysteriously died while partying with friends.

“I have lost all reason to live.After my husband's death, I centred my dreams around him. And now, he is suddenly no more there,“ the 40-year-old mother broke down while speaking to TOI about Ador, as she lovingly called Aabesh.

Aabesh left home around 10.30pm on Saturday, telling her, he was going to the surprise birthday party of a girl on whom, his dear friend, Boy A, had a crush. She did not stop him.

“In the evening, I kept calling him, but he did not respond. I thought he was partying hard. But then at 7.14pm, I received a call from an unknown number. A young boy asked me to call another friend of Aabesh immediately. He gave me the friend's number. When I called him he said my son was in AMRI's ICU,“ said Rimjhim, who teaches at a primary school and is also an interior designer.

By the time she reached AMRI--after calling up her mother--Aabesh was long dead. “I met Amit Chaudhuri's wife, who said she saw Boy A and another youth leaving Sunny Park in a hurry around 6pm.Boy A had said his mother was ill. A few minutes later, my son was found dead,“ Rimjhim said.At the hospital, she questioned all the friends who were at the party before lodging a complaint at the Ballygunge police station, accusing unknown men responsible for the murder of his son. “I am certain my son was murdered. The accused are all from influential and well-todo families. So, I suspect the police may hush up the case. They must properly investigate and arrest the culprits.“ She even urged the friends at the party to reveal the truth. “The parents should also take the initiative.They would not want something like this to happen to one of their loved ones,“ she said.Rimjhim's mother, Krishna, also could not fathom how amid so many people at the spot, no one knew who killed Aabesh.“Even drivers were at the parking lot. Someone murdered my grandson,“ she said.

Krishna even alleged the incident version furnished to the media was designed by those keen on “suppressing facts“.“Eta maramari noy, oke mara hoyechhe (This isn't a brawl, he was murdered). When youngsters fight, they might break their arms or box their ears. Here, we are talking about deep wounds. All these kids belong to affluent families. Let the common man say if they think this was just a case of a simple injury go ne wrong,“ she said. Her husband, Tollywood's stunt director Shantanu Pal, associated with films like `Nishijapon', `Ebar Shobor' and `Har Har Byomkesh', rushed back to Kolkata from a shoot in Ranchi. “We heard the police interrogated some at night and let them go.There should be no room for any shoddy probe,“ Pal said, insisting Aabesh could be a victim of a love triangle.

Director Sandip Ray , who knew Aabesh's family well, is keen justice is delivered. Aabesh's father, Swagata, who was in the police administration, assisted Ray when he was direc ting TV series, like `Baksho Rahashya', in 1995-96 and `Badsaahi Angti'. Ray even called him to assist him during the making of 'Monchora'. “I have known Swagata for long. He was a fine assistant. He and his family even attended birthday parties at my home,“ Ray said. As a kid, Aabesh, too, would often visit the Ray residence. “But when he grew older, he wasn't that frequent. It was a huge shock for us when Swagata died in February,“ he said. “We want the truth to come out. We can't believe that two back-to-back tragedies have struck the family ,“ said Ray's wife, Lalita.