Mahasweta Devi accuses personal assistant of cheating her

Kolkata, Oct 26: Writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi Saturday accused her personal assistant Joy Bhadra of fraudulently acquiring her properties.

"Bhadra in the last few years has taken my signatures on a number of documents and by creating trusts in my name, has fraudulently acquired my house, properties and legacy. I suspect I was administered too many sedatives to get the signatures on these documents," Mahasweta Devi told mediapersons here.

The Ramon Magsaysay award winner said she would be approaching West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking her intervention in the matter.

Bhadra, who has been working as an assistant with the noted author since 2000, rubbished all the allegations and claimed a conspiracy has been hatched to malign him.

"The allegations are false and baseless. She is approaching 90 years and her mental status is not such that she can judge all these. She has been influenced to make the allegations by some people with vested interest," Bhadra told IANS.

"She is like my mother and I have been taking care of her since 2000. All the medicines were administered strictly in accordance with medical supervision, there is no question of giving sedatives beyond the recommended doses," added Bhadra.

But Mahasweta Devi's grandson Tathagata Bhattacharya claimed that Bhadra was sent to her place by his late father Nabaraun Bhattacharya for sleepover around 2006 after he had a cerebral stroke. "He was only an employee of our company prior to that".

IANS