Nabadwip, March 18: In a shocking act of apparent revenge against his mother for leaving him for another man, a youth in Nadia’s Nabadwip allegedly pushed his five-year-old stepbrother into the Hooghly River during a boat ride, after taking him to the market under the pretext of buying cake.
The child, born from his mother’s second marriage, is feared drowned, with police and disaster management teams conducting an extensive search to recover his body. However, Subrata Biswas, an upper KG student at Swami Vivekananda Child Institute, remained missing till Sunday evening.
The accused, Suman Dutta (alias Gopal), a resident of Guptipara in Hooghly, has gone into hiding, prompting a police manhunt. CCTV footage shows him escaping with his face covered by a mask.
Relatives of the victim allege that Suman was influenced by his father, Mohan Dutta, his mother’s first husband, who harbored resentment and instilled hatred in him. They claim this led Suman to commit the crime as an act of vengeance against his mother for her perceived betrayal.
According to police and local sources, Suman arrived on Saturday evening at his mother Bandana Biswas’s present residence in Kapalipara village of Charmajdia-Charbrahmanagar Panchayat in Nabadwip, where she lives with her second husband Jaideb Biswas and their five-year-old son Subrata.
Subrata’s maternal aunt, Chaina Biswas, said, “Despite leaving her first husband long ago, Gopal kept in touch with his mother and visited her regularly. When he arrived on Saturday evening, we had no idea he had an ulterior motive.”
Family sources said that it was Suman’s birthday, and he proposed bringing a cake for everyone. He also suggested taking his stepbrother Subrata to the market with him.
“We had no reason to doubt his intentions. So we allowed him to pick up Subrata from his private tutor’s home and then go to the market for the cake. He took Subrata from the tutor’s home around 8 PM. But when they didn’t return by 9:30 PM, we started searching for them. That’s when a boatman told us that my son had been pushed into the river by a youth who managed to escape,” said the victim’s father, Jaideb Biswas.
Police said that after loitering in the market, Suman took Subrata on a boat ride to Nabadwip, crossing the Bhagirathi River. While returning, he pushed the child into the water just before the boat reached the jetty. Some passengers alerted the boatmen, but before they could react, the child was swept away by the river in the darkness of the night.
On Sunday, the victim’s mother, Bandana, found herself in distress, blaming her first husband for the tragedy. “Since I left him due to his torture, he has constantly threatened to disturb my peace and teach me a lesson. He poisoned Suman’s mind, and I never imagined my son would take revenge this way,” she said.
An officer from Nabadwip police station stated, “A probe has begun, but we have yet to recover the body. Meanwhile, we are working to apprehend the two accused, who are currently absconding.”