Dad promised to take us to Florida, says Bitan's son

Time of India

24-04-2025

Kolkata: Three-and-a-half-year-old Hridaan has constantly been looking for his father, Bitan Adhikari (40), little knowing that he had lost him to a terrorist attack in Baisaran Valley two days ago. "My father promised to take us with him to Florida this time. He promised me. Where is he?"
Not only Hridaan, but also his mother, Sohini (37), is yet to come to terms with her husband's death. Now back in Kolkata but she can't stop going back to that horrific moment, when Bitan, a software engineer who worked in Florida, was shot dead. "I can't wipe off those nightmarish moments. The gunman who shot my husband down had a video camera, strapped to his forehead. It meant they were recording the brutal acts or may have been streaming it for some persons to watch," Sohini said, repeating her earlier account of how her husband was stopped, asked whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim, and was asked to recite the Kalma before being shot dead. "We planned the trip sitting on this very sofa, and now, I am sitting here all alone," Sohini broke down on Thursday. "We went to Kashmir to get some time to ourselves. The same Kashmir snatched everything from us. Even if we want, we can no longer be together."
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Bitan's parents were at the Baishnabghata flat on Wednesday night, when his body had arrived in a coffin around 9 pm. On Thursday, the bereaved couple, back at their Behala Sakherbazar home, pleaded to be left alone. Family and friends gathered at the Keoratala crematorium around 11:30 pm for Bitan's cremation. While Sohini, along with her son, had stayed back at home, the cremation rites were conducted by Sohini and Bitan's brothers and cousins. Minister Arup Biswas and mayor Firhad Hakim were present at the crematorium. Before Bitan's body was taken away to the crematorium, Sohini stepped onto the balcony for a final glimpse of her husband. But she quickly returned as her eyes fell on their bird cage. "You asked me to buy these birds for our son, the birds remain, but you are gone," she was heard telling Bitan under her breath.
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On Thursday, Sohini recounted the last few moments at Baisaran Valley. "We were having a good time in the Valley when we saw some people coming over and asking questions. Suddenly, we heard gunshots. Everyone ducked down as the militants came up to us and asked our identities. An elderly man remained silent. He was shot in the head," she recalled. "Just when we thought we had survived, my husband was shot. He slumped to the ground. At first, I thought he had fainted and could be revived, but..." Sohini broke down again.
Sohini said she tried everything she knew to revive Bitan but in vail. "From giving water, chest compressions to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, I tried everything. But he stayed unresponsive. It was then I realised it was all over," she said.