Nilanjana Chatterjee, a resident of South Kolkata, was left seriously injured after she risked her life on Saturday night to save a woman whom she heard screaming for help from a car, in a deserted street off the EM Bypass. The incident has not only shocked the city, raising serious questions about the safety of women, but also restored faith in humanity. As the brave-heart undergoes surgery at a private hospital, we talk to her husband, Deep Satpathi, to know what exactly transpired that night.
Deep Satpathi
: Whether they met through a dating app or knew each other from before is not something I am bothered about at this point. We thought rescuing the girl was important and did what a human being is expected to do under such circumstances. The relationship is their personal matter. Whether the girl will back out is her decision but for now, all I want is for the culprit to be punished for this brutal act. My wife, Nilanjana, is undergoing a major surgery under Dr Kunal Sengupta and once she is shifted to bed, I will go and meet the OC at Anandapur police station (the incident happened under their jurisdiction). I want to know how and when will the culprit be caught and punished. The incident happened when we were coming back after attending my mother-in-law’s birthday party. My wife heard a girl screaming for help from a car behind our car and asked me to stop the car. I stopped our car at an angle where the road got blocked. Nilanjana ran to the car to save the girl and the man behind the wheels immediately pushed the girl and ran over Nilanjana’s legs. I called the police and they reached immediately. They arranged for the ambulance as my wife was badly injured. The girl was released after first aid but my wife had to undergo six stitches for a head injury and suffered multiple fractures in her leg. The girl called me on Sunday to ask about Nilanjana’s health and wished her speedy recovery. She doesn’t want to come to the fore and I respect that. I have a daughter and I know how easily society blames a girl. This morning, when Nilanjana was being taken into the operation theatre, she held my hands and told me – chinta koris na, ami shushtho hoye jabo. Kintu onnaye dekhle protibad korbo e, er por o (Don’t worry, I will be fine. But I will always protest what is wrong).
Murlidhar Sharma, Jt. Commissioner of Police (Crime), Kolkata Police
: This is not a case of a dating app meet or a blind date. Here, the accused knew the woman for more than a year. The accused works in a loan firm. He is absconding but we will nab him soon.
Debal Kumar Das, Inspector of Police, OC, Anandapur
: We are trying to get hold of the car and Abhishek Pandey (who goes by the name Amitabha Bose), who was behind the wheels. He has been charged with attempting to commit culpable homicide (Section 308 IPC). Kudos to the couple — Nilanjana Chatterjee and Deep Satpathi — for showing the courage to save the girl. But had they noted down the car number, it would have helped us with the investigation. We wish Nilanjana a speedy recovery. We had already recorded their statement on Saturday night.
Bivas Chatterjee, special public prosecutor for cybercrime and electronic evidences (Government of West Bengal):
The entire trail of nabbing the suspect, finding evidence, completion of a successful investigation and finally getting the real offender punished depends on conventional (in this case, the car) and electronic evidence (in this case, the phone and their social media accounts). In this case, apart from the CCTV footage, which itself is a critical piece of electronic evidence, evidence that might be able to establish the conduct before the crime, at the time of the crime and after the commitment of the crime, are all very important to get hold of the culprit. Chat and Facebook details from the electronic devices will also play a crucial role in the investigation.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/kolkata-braveheart-ill-be-fine-but-ill-always-protest-what-is-wrong/articleshow/77973468.cms