Shukla’s brother, Bapi, paid the ultimate price for daring to raise a voice and public awareness against illegal activities in the area by some local goons.
It was seven years ago, on the night of November 28, 2007, that she saw Ravi Das, Krishno Das, Ranjan Sharma and Devendra Sahu enter her home, drag her beloved brother “Lalu” Bapi Das (22) to the Adi Ganga and shoot him dead by firing on his chest. Apart from Shukla, her elder sister Mamoni Das and maternal uncle, Buddu Das were barely 10-20 metres from the spot.
Since then, Shukla and the others have visited the court every day, hoping to secure justice. Shukla had led the battle from the front. “We have been to court around 70-80 times. We even attended court when my family did not need to testify. In between, we have received threats. We have lodged complaints four times at the Kalighat police station against the relatives of the accused, who live in Chetla. The court and the police have entered our lives, it seems forever. Yet today, when I know they have been convicted, I can barely manage to sit beside my brother’s photo,” she says.
Buddu, who runs a small shop selling imitation jewellery, says the biggest challenge was to secure a livelihood for the family. “Bapi was 14 when he became a guide at the temple after his father, a sevayat there - passed away suddenly. He knew he had to look after his family. Look at the family’s fate. Now, Shukla is the only earning member, though I contribute in whatever way I can. It was her shop’s earnings that helped her eldest sister Radha to get married in Murshidabad. Mamoni, her other sister, had been a pillar of strength,” Buddu says.
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