Cop murdered in Darjeeling gave up comfortable bank job to serve police force

DARJEELING: When Amitava Malik had visited home in August this year, his father Soumen told him to consider changing his profession given the volatile situation in the Hills where he was posted since early 2015.
“You should be proud that you are a police officer’s father. I will not leave the force for any other job,” sub-inspector Malik, 27, had said to his father in a mild rebuke.
His son’s words rang loud in Soumen’s ears when he heard the news of Amitava’s death on television on Friday morning.Amitava was killed late on Thursday night when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha cadres opened fire on cops during an operation to nab Bimal Gurung near the West Bengal-Sikkim border.
Soumen struggled to fight the setback which is bound to break any parents into pieces but did not spill a single tear.
“My son is a martyr and I am proud of him. I will not cry because he has laid down his life in the line of duty,” said Soumen who is a plumber by profession.
Amitava’s mother Ganga, younger brother Arunava and friends and neighbours in Sarat Kanan in Madhyamgram’s Shibtala could not display such resilience and self-control.
“Mashima (Amitava’s mother) is inconsolable,” said Santu Biswas, Amitava’s classmate since kindergarten in Madhyamgram Boys’ High School. “She has fainted several times since hearing the news of his’s death.”
Amitava, who was a topper in school and college, joined the police force in 2014 and was posted in Darjeeling Sadar police station in early 2015 after completion of his training.
The electrical engineer from Burdwan University did crack several competitive examinations including banks and insurance but opted for a job in the police force.
“His parents tried to convince him to take up a job in a bank as it was comfortable and was not risky but Amitava did not agree,” said Kallol Manna, Amitava’s cousin.
The Shibtala neighbourhood, around 2km from the Madhyamgram Municipality office, was shrouded in a pall of gloom. Every eye was moist and every lip had a story to narrate about Amitava.
“His father is a plumber and did not have money to educate his son but Amitava taught other children and did odd jobs to fund his education partially,” said Anima Kunango, a distant relative of Maliks.
Amitava had promised to return home along with his wife Beauty, whom he married in March this year, to celebrate Kali Puja with his family. The Kali Puja pandal receiving finishing touches in a field lay abandoned on Friday morning. The grieving neighbourhood has decided not to celebrate the festival this year.
“Amitava was our pride. In his death he has made us even prouder. He was the first boy from this neighbourhood to work for the police. We are shocked at hearing the news of his death. Nobody is in the mental frame to celebrate the festival,” said Amitava’s next door neighbour Dulal Roy.