Kolkata: A 20-year-old nurse, Trisha Paul, whose service was terminated due to absenteeism by an ailing couple, aged 82 and 76, residing in Behala, visited the house days after her dismissal on the pretext of enquiring about "Dadu's" health. On learning that "Dida" expired, she used the deceased's mobile phone to transfer Rs 1.5 lakh in three transactions in Jan.
All the transactions were carried out when the elderly man's sons, who live in other cities, were present in the house along with other relatives bereaving the woman's death.
The couple's elder son, recounted how the nurse, who was hired in Dec 2025, siphoned off Rs 1.8 lakh in 20 UPI transactions, a bulk of which were done within days of his mother's death, when Paul was no longer employed in the house. "The nurse appeared sincere. She spoke of her father's death, of having to abandon her education, and of the hardships that led her to caregiving work. My parents, already emotionally fragile after illness, were deeply moved. She was also comfortable with technology, something my parents were not. She helped them order groceries online, book plumbers and electricians via apps, and handled small digital payments," he said.
When the complainant, who lives in Bengaluru, and his brother, who lives in Canada, visited Kolkata, they were surprised by how dependent their parents became on her. In Jan this year, the brothers returned to their respective cities. But Paul's service was discontinued on Jan 12. On Jan 14, the complainant's mother passed away.
"Amid grief, rituals, and the responsibility of caring for our father, life blurred into exhaustion. The very next day, Trisha arrived at our home, saying she came to see my father," the complainant said. She came twice more in the following days. Later, when he added himself to one bank account linked to his mother's GPay, he noticed a series of transfers, beginning after he left the city. "Every one of the 20 transfers between Jan 4 and Jan 28 was made by Paul, the very person we allowed into our home," he said. When he confronted her, there was neither fear nor remorse. She appeared unperturbed when the complainant told her he would inform the police. He reported the matter to the national cybercrime portal on Jan 31 and filed a complaint at Parnasree Police Station on Feb 1.