A small two-room house with an asbestos roof over a five-inch brick structure. The house is right beside the main village road. Its appearance alone reveals the family's impoverished condition. Since Saturday morning, neighbours have been gathering in front of this house in South Paikbad village of Kanthi's Bamunia gram panchayat.
There have been various discussions, sighs, and whispers among the community. Administrative officials have informed residents that the head of the family, Swapan Rana, a fisherman, has died from an illness in a Pakistani jail.
This news has raised several questions and curiosities among the neighbours. Did Swapan really die? What illness did he have?
Swapan's wife, Tuturani Rana, insists that her husband is not dead and believes there has been some kind of mistake. This confusion was further explained by their son, 21-year-old Chandrakanta.
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He stated, "It seems there has been a mix-up with names. The administrative officers don’t know my father, Swapan Rana, personally. The person who died has likely been mistakenly linked to my father's name."
Officials from the fisheries department arrived at the house in South Paikbad village on Saturday to deliver the news of Swapan's death. They also informed the family about when they would need to go to the Wagah-Attari border to bring back his body. However, Swapan's wife and son are having difficulty accepting the news.
Chandrakanta, his son, stated, "The administration has told us they will take us to the Wagah border on December 3. We will definitely go, but we cannot believe it until we see my father's body."
In that three-member family, Swapan was the sole earner. Swapan's son Chandrakanta had initially gone to work as a migrant labourer in another state. But since hearing the news that his father was imprisoned in Pakistan, he has been at home. Swapan's wife, Tuturani, works as a daily labourer at a cashew nut factory in Kanthi. According to her, "Mother and son are surviving on this meagre income. I believe the man will return safely".
