Mumbai: Alok Chatterjee, 68, a retired traffic controller with Mumbai Airport has spent the last three months racing between a hospital and police station to claim the belongings of his only son, Captain Soumik Chatterjee. The 28-year-old pilot with Jet Airways was killed in a road accident on Western Express Highway in April this year. Chatterjee, who now works with a private aviation firm as consultant, says, "Neither officials at Andheri police station nor Cooper Hospital have offered me clarity about where my son's uniform, metal wings, wrist watch, shoes, socks and neck tie are. That's all I have as far as his last memory goes." Chatterjee has written letters seeking help to senior inspector at Andheri police station, Nandakumar Dhumal, additional commissioner of police (West Region) Chhering Dorje, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, superintendent of Cooper Hospital and Swadheen Kshatriya, chief secretary of Maharashtra. "Finally, I received a reply in July from the Andheri police, stating that no possessions were on my son's body when they received it. Meanwhile, hospital authorities say they had handed over the belongings to the police. After repeated visits, I have been made to wait, I have been spoken to rudely, and now I have little idea of what to do next," says a baffled Chatterjee. According to him, he had inquired with the staff at Cooper Hospital, where his son was brought in, the day of the accident. They promised to locate and hand the possessions over, but never did. "My nephew even met Cooper's dean, Dr Ramesh Chaturvedi. They took down my number and promised to call." On April 5, 2015, captain Soumik Chatterjee, a resident of Andheri East, was on his way to the airport in a cab provided by his employer, Jet Airways. The accident occurred at 5.30 am when the cab slammed into a divider before the Andheri flyover on Western Express Highway. Chatterjee, who was seated on the rear seat, died due to brain haemorrage. He had left his home at 5.15 am to report for a 6.15 am Mumbai-Bengaluru-Mumbai flight. His father recollects, "I received a call from Jet Airways at 6.45 am to say that Soumik had met with an accident and had been taken to Andheri's Cooper Hospital. I left home and got there by 7.30 am. I was told my son was declared dead before admission."
09/08/15 Sailee Dhayalkar/Mid Day
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
09/08/15 Sailee Dhayalkar/Mid Day
