Kolkata skeleton case: Notes with 'sexual overtones' add to intrigue

Kolkata, June 13
While the mystery surrounding the case of a city man who confessed to living with his sister's corpse for months continues to grow with many unanswered questions, diary entries and letters with 'sexual overtones' found from the house have only deepened the intrigue.

Investigating the death of the man's father, Arabinda De, whose charred body was found in the washroom of the house on Wednesday night, police stumbled upon the maggot infested skeletons of his daughter Debjani De and two of her dogs.

Since then, the bungalow at 3, Robinson Street in South Kolkata has been the centre of public attention.

Notes and letters seized from the house, including diary entries by Partha De, Debjani's brother, suggests a complex relationship between the family members.

"My mother was jealous of her (Debjani). We went to Digha (on vacation). My mother made her strip in the bathroom...

"My mother thinks I am impotent...," writings such as these has led to several suggestions including incest and necrophilia, but psychiatrists advise caution.

"It will be rather unsafe to draw inference of incestuous love or necrophilia from the writings. There is no doubt there was a strong bond between the siblings but Partha may have written the notes in a state of delusion," Sabyasachi Mitra who examined Partha told IANS.

Adding to the eerie atmosphere are several letters found by police in three different hand writings suggesting the family members used to mutually communicate in black and white.

Although they have not found any homicidal angle, the police will be interrogating Partha currently admitted in the Calcutta Pavlov Hospital.

"We are looking into the contents of the laptops and mobile phones that we have seized and also investigating the emails and phone calls made by the family members. We have also taken the court's permission to quiz Partha at the hospital," deputy commissioner of police (South Division) Murli Dhar said.

Besides evidence suggesting that Partha used to "feed" the skeletons, spooky music CDs containing the voice of an American evangelist were also recovered from the house.

Adding further intrigue to the tale, two days before his eventual death, Arabinda had visited his solicitor friend Subir Majumdar to discuss how both his children including the daughter would cope after his death.

On June 8 De had called on Majumdar for preparing a power of attorney to administer his property.

Majumdar, who would meet De at least once a week, admitted he never had an inkling that Debjani was dead.

"De came to me on June 8 and said he wanted to create a power of attorney in my favour. When asked why, he said if something happened to him, who would look after his son and daughter," said Majumdar.

"Since a power of attorney would become void with his death, I suggested that he set up a trust with his son and daughter being the beneficiaries. Hearing that he insisted that I become a trustee," said Majumdar.

"Not even for once did he say that Debjani was dead. He was always jovial and smiling and I never had an inkling that he was depressed or was contemplating suicide," said the solicitor.

Majumdar, who visited De's house only once in October last year, said the old man would often talk about his two children.

"He really adored both of them. He used to say Partha was brilliant, and praised Debjani's singing. Also he would talk about how Partha was always recording whenever his sister sang," added Majumdar.

Meanwhile, Debjani's former colleague at the Don Bosco school, where she used to teach music, recalled her as a very talented music teacher.

"She was very cordial and always smiling. Whenever we met, she would ask how I was but she seldom used to go to the staff room. But as music teacher she was very good, she was highly qualified," said Bablu Mondal.

"She often used talk about the two dogs and often hurried to get back home. Later her mother developed cancer and she took leave from the school to take care of her," added Mondal, Debjani's colleague at the school in 2006-07.

Kolkata, June 13
Arabinda De, the father of the man who was living with his sister's corpse, had visited his solicitor friend Subir Majumdar to discuss the future of his children after his death.

Responding to a fire call, the police had on Wednesday, found the charred body of 77- year-old De inside the washroom of his house.

Subsequent interrogation of his son Partha had led to the discovery of the maggot-infested skeletons of Debjani (50) and two dogs.

Majumdar, who would meet De at least once a week, admitted he never had an inkling that Debjani was dead.

"De came to me on June 8 and said he wanted to create a power of attorney in my favour. When asked why, he said if something happened to him, who would look after his son and daughter," said Majumdar.

"Since a power of attorney would become void with his death, I suggested that he set up a trust with his son and daughter being the beneficiaries. Hearing that he insisted that I become a trustee," said Majumdar.

"Not even once did he say that Debjani was dead. He was always jovial and smiling and I never had an inkling that he was depressed or was contemplating suicide," said the solicitor.

Now admitted to the Calcutta Pavlov Hospital, 44-year-old Partha confessed to living with and 'feeding' his sister Debjani who died six months ago.

Majumdar, who visited De's house only once in October last year, said the old man would often talk about his two children.

"He really adored both of them. He used to say Partha was brilliant and praised Debjani's singing. Also he would talk about how Partha was always recording whenever his sister sang," added Majumdar.

Debjani's former colleague at Don Bosco school, where she taught music, recalled her as a very talented music teacher.

"She was very cordial and always smiling. Whenever we met, she would ask how I was but she seldom used to go to the staff room. But as music teacher she was very good; she was highly qualified," said her former colleague Bablu Mondal.

"She often used to talk about the two dogs and hurried to get back home. Later her mother developed cancer and she took leave from the school to take care of her," added Mondal, Debjani's colleague at the school in 2006-07.