Gopal Banerjee, brother of Sushmita Banerjee, the Indian author who was killed in Afghanistan on September 4, appealed to the Indian government here on Monday to find out the truth behind his sister’s death.
“We are not sure whether it was the Taliban or someone else who killed her. Moreover, there are inconsistencies in what my brother-in-law has said about her death, which makes us very suspicious,” Mr. Gopal Banerjee told The Hindu .
Referring to an e-mail from the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, he said Jaanbaaz Khan, his brother-in-law, had told the embassy that he could not convey the news of his wife’s death to her relatives in the city as he did not have their telephone numbers.
‘False claims’
“His claims that he does not have our telephone numbers are completely false. Mr. Khan had called me only months before in June when my sister had come to Kolkata to visit us,” Mr. Banerjee said.
The family members said that when they were able to contact Mr. Khan days after they learnt about the incident from media reports they were told by him that the Taliban was responsible for the killing.
“We find it surprising that he had told the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan that he does not know who is behind the murder,” Mr. Banerjee said.
The family members also questioned the timing of the author’s death — barely a couple of days before she was scheduled to return to the city.
