Six months after the bomb blast during post-poll celebrations snatched away her nine-year-old daughter, the mother of the slain child attempted suicide in Nadia’s Kaliganj police station area, laying bare the enduring scars of political violence, delayed justice and unrelenting fear.
Sabina Yasmin, mother of Class IV student Tamanna Khatun, allegedly consumed an overdose of sleeping pills at her Kaliganj residence on Tuesday night, family members said on Wednesday. She was immediately rushed to Shaktinagar District Hospital in Krishnagar, where doctors confirmed that her condition is stable and she is out of danger.
Tamanna was killed on 23 June, the day the Kaliganj Assembly by-election results were declared, when a crude bomb allegedly hurled during Trinamul Congress victory celebrations exploded at Molandi village. The death of the minor had triggered widespread outrage across the state, forcing chief minister Mamata Banerjee to order swift arrests and strict action.
While police have arrested at least 10 people so far, the victim’s family alleged that 14 of the accused are still absconding and that they continue to live under constant threat. The prolonged uncertainty, they say, has pushed Sabina to the brink.
“Since Tamanna’s death, Sabina has been living in fear. She barely sleeps, barely eats. The thought that those responsible are still free has broken her completely,” said Tamanna’s uncle, Rabiul Sheikh.
Hospital sources said Sabina had been battling depression for months and had been taking sleeping pills under distress, adding that her condition worsened after she allegedly consumed an excessive dose on Tuesday night.
The family has approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case, alleging lapses in the investigation and expressing apprehension that delays in the trial or the possibility of bail for the accused could further endanger their lives.
They also voiced deep dissatisfaction with the pace of the police investigation, stating that each passing month without closure has compounded their trauma. For a family already mourning the loss of a child, the wait for justice, they said, has become another form of punishment.