For five days now, the address of Palash Dutta of Parnashree govt housing estate at Behala is CMRI, also known as Calcutta Hospital, at Ekbalopore in Kolkata. Spending most of his time in the lobby, he takes the lift to the seventh floor, and stands outside the ICU with folded hands.That’s where his childhood friend Bapi Sen, the policeman who fought with five of his colleagues to save the honour of a woman on New Year’s eve and was beaten up by rowdy constables, has been battling for life.Dutta is not alone in his hour of grief. Special pujas are being offered at different temples here, including the Kalighat temple for Sen’s recovery. ‘‘People in many of households in our para (locality) are not taking their regular meals,’’ Ashish Gupta, a neighbour said. ‘‘We are all praying.’’ Today, children held candlelight prayers at the hospital.Many of the people, including his friends, relatives, colleagues, even those from his para, who have been trickling in for the past three days, believe Sen will come out triumphant this time too. ‘‘Whenever we had a tough situation he would say, ‘Don’t give in, we will find a way out.’ I hope he gets out of this one too,’’ Suprotik Burman, a real estate developer, and a friend of Bapi said.Others aren’t so hopeful. ‘‘We are waiting for a miracle to happen, as the doctors have told us it is a lost case.’’ Meanwhile, a Kolkata court has ordered the five accused constables to be shifted to police custody from judicial custody.
