Kolkata: Less than five days after Bitan Adhikary from Kolkata in West Bengal was killed by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, an ugly spat has ensued regarding the nationality of his widow Sohini.
And the person behind all this is none other than Adhikary’s elder brother Bibhu, a practicing lawyer. He has claimed that Sohini is an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant. This comes at a time when Adhikary’s friends and colleagues at Boston in the US are using crowdfunding to raise funds for Sohini and their child. At last count, over Rs 1 crore has already been raised through their efforts.
Sohini returned to Kolkata from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday with Adhikary’s mortal remains and their three-year-old son. Immediately after this, her brother-in-law Bibhu started accusing her or being a Bangladeshi living in India on the basis of forged documents.
But why didn’t Bibhu mention this earlier when his brother was alive? He claims that he did so two years ago and a case of fraud is pending against Sohini and her mother Bharati Roy in the Calcutta High Court. While Sohini has not commented on the matter, Bibhu claims that her mother Bharati has fled to Bangladesh after the case against them was filed.
“Sohini has two different birth certificates. She is originally from Bangladesh. Later, she obtained Indian voter ID, Aadhaar card, and other identification documents, which were later found to be fraudulent,” Bibhu told the media in Kolkata.
He further claimed that Sohini was living in the US with her husband, but returned to India in January 2023 after her Indian passport expired. Bibhu claimed. He also claimed that her application for continued stay in India, filed in February 2023, was rejected, and the matter is currently pending before a division bench of the Calcutta High Court.
Sohini, meanwhile, met West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari after her arrival in Kolkata on Wednesday and told him that her husband Bitan was a BJP supporter.
The following day, Adhikari, accompanied by BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, visited Sohini’s Patuli residence and spoke with her for over three minutes. Adhikari later stated that while the details of their conversation would remain confidential, they are firmly standing by Sohini’s side.
