Manna Dey's daughter accuses cousin of siphoning cash

Since last month, the legendary singer Manna Dey has been in hospital, after a chest infection took a serious turn. Dey, 94, is a Dadasaheb Phalke awardee and he’s sung more than 3,000 songs in various Indian languages during the course of his career. At the moment, however, it’s not Dey’s music that’s making news, but his family and their infighting. Last week, the Kolkata police received a letter from Dey’s daughter, Sumita Deb, accusing her cousin Tarrit of siphoning cash, jewellery and wrist watches that were kept in Dey’s locker. Sumita accused Tarrit, who is Dey’s nephew, of having transferred valuables worth lakhs of rupees to his wife’s bank account. Sumita’s husband Jnanranjan Deb told the Times of India that the police have promised to look into the case. However, the same report quotes an investigator who says,  “We found that the person accused by Dey’s daughter is a joint account holder and signatory with the singer. According to the rule, either the singer or his nephew is entitled to operate the account.” [caption id=“attachment_956797” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Ibn live[/caption] Dey and his nephew were joint account holders and that particular account was used to pay for expenses concerning the Deys’ ancestral home. Sumita Deb alleges that her cousin, aside from transferring money and jewellery from the shared account, has also moved the locker to different branch. Another report in the Deccan Herald says that Sumita had asked Tarrit for money to help pay for Dey’s hospital expenses and Tarrit “kept dragging his feet”. This is when she sent her letter to the police. According to the Deccan Herald, Sumita’s accusations have made Tarrit so unwell that he is unable to speak to the media. However, family friends insist that Tarrit is innocent and have rubbished Sumita’s claims. The Kolkata police doesn’t seem particularly convinced either. “We have spoken to singer’s family members. We are verifying all the aspect. Legally a joint account holder can operate any account, though we are verifying the terms and conditions. We are yet to have registered any case,” said DP Singh, DC central, Kolkata Police.