Passers-by act mute spectators as elderly woman sets herself ablaze

In a tragic incident, an elderly woman set herself on fire inside a park early Friday morning but none of the passers-by came forward to her rescue.

The victim, Kalpana Bardhan (72), a resident of Bijaygarh in Jadavpur went to Netaji Sishu Udyan on Friday morning. Many of the local people go to the park take a stroll in the morning. When she entered the park, there were some people already taking a stroll. Much to the shock of everyone present there, the woman suddenly set herself on fire. But no one among the morning walkers came forward to save the woman.

The incident occurred at around 5.30 am on Friday. The victim who resides close to the park suddenly set herself on fire. The local residents saw that she was ablaze but no one came forward to rescue her.

One of the morning walkers dialled 100 and informed the police about the incident. The police reached the spot and took the victim to MR Bangur Hospital where the doctors pronounced her brought dead.

Police said that the woman sprinkled kerosene on her body and set herself on fire. The local residents told the police that they could not identify the victim. The

victim's family members on Friday morning found that the woman was not at home. Initially, they thought she might have gone for a walk.

Within hours they received information that a woman of the nearby area committed suicide by setting herself on fire but they could not identify the woman. When the woman did not return home, her family members started a search in the nearby areas. They were later informed by the police that the elderly woman committed suicide.

Police are yet to ascertain the exact cause behind the suicide. They have started a detailed probe into the incident and interrogated the family members of the victim.