This story is from February 23, 2019

Kolkata: Elderly couple in suicide pact jumps into Hooghly

Kolkata: Elderly couple in suicide pact jumps into Hooghly
Hooghly bridge
KOLKATA: An elderly couple, who had left their home and put up at a guest house near Howrah station, jumped into the Hooghly one after another from a launch during a ride between Howrah and Ahiritola Ghat on Friday morning.
Fellow passengers jumped to rescue the two, but only managed to save the woman, Shukla Dutta (65), while her husband Tapas Dutta (72), a retired electrical engineer, was swept by the tide and could only be rescued by a team of river traffic police personnel, who were doing the rounds in the river.
The man was taken to Howrah District Hospital where he was declared dead. The woman was admitted to the hospital where doctors said she was in trauma, but was out of danger.
track

Police said around 10.20am, the two had boarded the Ahiritola Ghat-bound launch from Howrah ferry ghat. The woman reportedly told the police that they had left their house at Duttapukur in Barasat after a family trouble over some financial issues.
“After leaving home, the couple came to the guest house near Howrah station and had been staying there for the past four days. On Friday, they had told the manager that they were going to a temple in Ahiritola,” said a senior officer at Golabari PS.
According to other passengers of the launch, the couple was sitting on a bench and the woman was speaking to someone over mobile. “She looked upset and disconnected the call after saying that they had no reason to live. After that, the elderly man walked near the railings and jumped over the fence into the water. I jumped and tried to save him but his body was swept away. Seconds later, the elderly woman also jumped into the water,” said Md Arif, a launch staff.

Asis Dutta, a fellow passenger and a resident of Chitpore, dived into the river and was able to get hold of the woman. Another passenger, Samaresh Das, also jumped after him and the two were able to rescue the woman.
When the couple jumped, the launch was under the Howrah bridge and a team of river traffic police personnel were on patrol nearby. They later traced the elderly man and pulled him up. The cops brought them to the hospital in Howrah, where Tapas was declared dead while Shukla was administered first aid and admitted at the observation ward. “We were suffering from financial trouble and there was regular tiff at home. We had no money left and no reason to live,” said Shukla at the hospital.
Howrah police commissioner Vishal Garg said they had sent the man’s body for autopsy and started a probe. “We haven’t received any complaint and have started an unnatural death case.” The couple’s son later arrived at the hospital and said he had no clue that his parents had attempted suicide.
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