Kolkata: The shraddh ceremony of Jadavpur University's third-year English student, Anamika Mondal, was held on Sunday at her residence on Lalit Gupta Street in Nimta, North Dum Dum.
The neighbourhood wore a deserted look, with hardly anyone seen outside her house.
Anamika's body was recovered from the pond on the campus on Thursday night during a cultural event. Cops' preliminary findings suggested that she may have accidentally drowned after falling into the water. On Sunday, her father, Arnab Mondal, and ailing mother, Meenakshi Devi, repeatedly broke down during the rituals. "It was heartbreaking to see helpless parents perform the shraddh of their only daughter.
None of us had the courage to console them," said Uday Narayan Chatterjee, a neighbour.
Locals said Meenakshi Devi, who suffered a brain stroke two years ago, has been unwell since. The loss of her daughter has left her physically and emotionally devastated. Neighbours described Anamika — affectionately called ‘Mistu' — as a bright, soft-spoken, and immensely talented girl.
Anamika's father, Arnab Mondal, an employee of a private firm in Salt Lake, vowed to seek justice.
"I cannot accept that my daughter died by drowning. I will lodge a complaint of murder. I was waiting for the shraddh ceremony to be over. From tomorrow, we will begin our fight for justice," he told TOI.
He recalled Anamika's dream of setting up a small textbook library for underprivileged students.
Meenakshi said: "The loose security arrangements and indifference of the guards on the campus are also responsible for my daughter's death."