His father had died years ago. To support his mother, Subhash Chhetri went to Goa last year and was working there as a cook. Like many other 24-year-olds, Subhash also dreamed of building a house and starting a family. He was scheduled to return home next March. But his dreams were reduced to ashes in a fire at a nightclub in North Goa last week. His mother Tanka Maya Chhetri has not been keeping well since then.
Subhash Chhetri died in the devastating nightclub fire that also claimed 24 other lives on the night of December 6. The tragic incident has cast a shadow of grief over his family. The Siliguri police commissionerate has contacted the Goa Police to bring back his body.
Subhash’s house is located at Banuchhat in Chopukuria, adjacent to Bagdogra, near Siliguri. After his father Manbahadur Chhetri’s death, the burden of the family fell on Subhash’s shoulders. His elder sister is married and lives in Kalimpong.
As the news of the nightclub fire spread in the village on Monday, neighbours gathered at his house. They were trying to console Subhash’s mother. His sister, Urmila Chhetri, said, “My brother was supposed to come last year during Dashami, but couldn’t get leave.
He informed his brother-in-law four days ago that he would come in March next year. That will not happen now. All of my brother’s and the family’s dreams are over. Fire safety was compromised. If they had maintained proper safety protocols, my brother would have been alive.”
“He was on duty at the time of the explosion. His phone was ringing till the evening. We thought he was alive, but later the police informed us that his phone was with them and that he had died. The police also conducted a postmortem on his body,” his sister added.
Bijay Mangar, the deputy head of the Hetmuri-Singhijhora panchayat in Phansidewa in Darjeeling district, told reporters, “Subhash was my neighbour. He went to work in Goa with dreams of paying off land debt and building a house. He was the family’s sole earner.”
The police have taken steps to bring Subhash’s body back to the village. According to local sources, the body was taken from Goa to Mumbai by flight on Monday night. From there, the body will be brought to Bagdogra Airport.
“We have heard about the incident. Contact has been made with the Goa Police to bring the body here,” said Rakesh Singh, Deputy Police Commissioner, Siliguri.
Subhash’s sister said that the family was initially informed that he had been critically injured in the nightclub fire. Later, it was confirmed that he had lost his life in the incident.