Malda hostage crisis: No one abducted me and my son, says gunman’s wife

MALDA: A new twist has come to the open in the Malda school student hostage case with Rita Ballabh, wife of the gunman claiming that she and her son have not been abducted. She along with her son, at present are living with her parents. She has further stated that she left her husband a long time ago owing to his mental disorder which was unbearable for the mother-son duo.

On Wednesday, an assailant named Deb Ballabh entered class 7 of Chandramohan High School in Old Malda block armed with 9mm pistol, sharp weapons and petrol bombs. He threatened to blow up the room if his wife and son were not returned to him.

Rita Ballabh said: “He needs treatment. He becomes very enthusiastic and acts on provocations by others. The incident at Chandramohan High School in Old Malda could be someone else’s plan. My husband is an ordinary working man. The police should first investigate where he got such sophisticated firearms. There must be a mastermind behind this incident. Many years ago, I saw my husband's unusual behaviour at my in-laws' house and requested him to undergo treatment. No one paid attention. Unable to bear the mental torture, I went to my father's house.”

Rita Ballabh's father's house is in a village not far from her in-laws' house in Nimua of Muchia Gram Panchayat under the Malda police station. Their son is studying in class 12. The arrested man confessed during interrogation that he had bought the weapons from Bihar. Probe is on.