Renu Khatun’s job letter ready, says Mamata Banerjee

Health officials in East Burdwan said the letter would reach her in a day or two

Renu Khatun at the hospital in Durgapur. : Dipika Sarkar

Snehamoy Chakraborty   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |    10.06.22  : A letter appointing Renu Khatun, the 23-year-old nurse whose right palm was chopped off by her husband on Sunday, in a government job has been issued, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

The appointment letter was issued within 24 hours of Mamata’s assurance that Renu would get her government job for which she had been empanelled last month.

Renu had accused her husband Sariful Sheikh, 26, helped by two aides, of chopping off her right palm till her wrist to prevent her from joining the job at a government hospital.

“We have already issued an appointment letter for the woman from Katwa (Ketugram). The West Bengal health recruitment board has appointed her in the post of staff nurse (grade-II) in East Burdwan district. Although she has been appointed as a staff nurse, she will perform non-nursing duties,” said Mamata, reading out the appointment letter from the phone of chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi at Nabanna on Thursday.

An overwhelmed Renu, who is hospitalised in Durgapur, said her pain had lessened. “I have no words to express my gratitude to our honourable chief minister. She issued my appointment letter within 24 hours of her assurance. The news healed much of my pain. I would like to meet our ‘mother’ Mamata Banerjee once,” Renu told The Telegraph from her hospital bed.

Doctors said Renu was recovering well and would be released  shortly.

On Thursday, a senior health official from Calcutta spoke to Renu over phone during which she requested a posting in East Burdwan. Sources said Mamata directed officials to appoint her within the jurisdiction of her district. Health officials in East Burdwan said the letter would reach her in a day or two.

“I have a bigger plan in life in the nursing profession,” Renu said.

Husband’s aides held East Burdwan police on Thursday arrested two aides of Renu’s husband Sariful from Talgram village in Murshidabad. Asraf Ali, 25, and Habib Sheikh, 24, allegedly helped Sariful chop off Renu’s right palm on Sunday.

Asraf, a construction worker, returned from Kerala last month. Habib, who works in a shop selling chicken in Pune, returned a few days ago. The duo are friends of a cousin of Sariful. They were produced before Katwa court that remanded them to six days of police custody. Sariful has already been arrested.

Renu on Thursday said the faces of two youths were covered and she could not identify them. One smothered her face with a pillow to stop her from screaming and another helped her husband to chop off her hand. “My husband chopped off my hand. But one of the two helped him do so. I want them to be thrown behind bars for life,” said Renu.

“We are trying to recover the weapons used to cut off the hand,” said Kamanasish Sen, East Burdwan superintendent of police.

Sources said that the duo had been hired by Sariful and stayed at Renu’s in-laws' house before the crime was committed.