Kolkata: An elderly couple suffering from mental depression jumped into the river Hooghly near Ahritola Ghat from a vessel on Friday afternoon. The body of Tapas Kumar Dutta was fished out by the disaster management group, he was declared brought dead at the Howrah State General Hospital while his wife Shukla is undergoing treatment.
According to police sources, the duo were residents of Hathkhola in Duttapukur, North 24-Parganas, had boarded a vessel from Bagbazar Ghat and was heading towards Howrah. Suddenly half way in their journey while the vessel was about to stop at Ahritola Ghat they jumped into the river.
The co-passengers were taken aback at the sudden incident but some of them who were good swimmers immediately jumped into the river to rescue them. The disaster management team at Ahritola Ghat also joined the rescue operation. They were rescued rushed to Howrah State General Hospital.
It is alleged when the duo were taken to the hospital Shukla had claimed that they were unhappy because her son did not offer them adequate food. She claimed that they took the extreme step as they were ashamed how badly their son treated them. However, later in the day after she learnt that doctors had declared her husband dead she changed her statement.
She informed the police that they were suffering from mental depression as her husband was suffering from diseases and the expenditure for the treatment was huge. Hospital sources said Shukla's condition is stable and her son after being informed about the incident visited the hospital.