Uncle in jail, dad to be arrested, Tangra boy goes to kids’ shelter

Kolkata: More than two months after 14-year-old Pratip Dey lost his mother, cousin, and aunt in a botched family suicide tragedy at their Tangra residence, he was finally shifted to a shelter home from NRS Hospital on Saturday evening. Kolkata Police indicated on Thursday that no relative had come forward to take his responsibility despite multiple efforts in that direction by the administration.
The process was initiated a day earlier, when cops moved the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), appealing for a home to be finalised for the teenager who had been at NRS Hospital since Feb 18 after spending a few days at a private hospital off EM Bypass. It was an emotional send-off for Pratip who was staying with his father, Pranoy, admitted to the same hospital. The other surviving member of the family, Pratip's uncle Prasun, had been arrested on charges related to the deaths of Pratip's mother, cousin and aunt.

Lalbazar indicated that with Pratip now placed at a home, which came with multiple legal challenges, it will be "any time now" that they will arrest his father for being directly involved with the incident in Tangra.
Doctors said Pratip took a long time to recover since he was in trauma, and will require further counselling to adjust to his new life. Besides the shock of losing his loved ones, he also bears wounds from the attacks by Prasun and the subsequent car crash on Bypass.
Ananya Chakraborti, advisor to West Bengal Commission of Child Rights, had said efforts to convince his aunt's parents in Behala to take him in failed. However, at least four unrelated families have expressed their desire to adopt him. Chakraborti said several families showed their interest in providing foster care.
But CWC, led by chairperson Mahua Sur Ray, clarified they will follow the rulebook before thinking of putting him up for adoption. "We have informed the investigating officer of Tangra PS to inform us whenever they take legal action against Pranoy. Merely expressing interest in adoption or providing foster care is not enough. We will need a lot of background checks and multiple legal procedures before we can see if he can be placed for adoption or in foster care," a CWC member said.
Pratip had earlier told WBCCR he desperately wanted to return home. "We don't want him to stay at a shelter home either. We are hopeful of finding him a home," an officer said, adding that no relative turned up to meet him at the hospital. "Our efforts to contact his relatives in Mumbai failed," an officer said.