Tamang son in house row

AVIJIT SINHA Siliguri, Feb. 1: A 69-year-old British woman alleged that she had been dragged and thrown out of a rented flat in Uttarayon township near here on January 22 by the family members of slain ABGL leader Madan Tamang who own the flat Philippa Isidore Presentation has been staying in India for the past eight years. Pip, as the senior lady prefers to call herself, said she had been staying on the first floor of the two-storied house owned by the Tamang family for the past two years against a rent of Rs 20,000. “I was born in London and visited India 25 years back. Feeling enchanted with the country, I have been staying in India for the past eight years. In the initial four years, I have stayed in Kerala and then in Darjeeling for another two years. Two years ago, I shifted to Uttarayon and have been staying on rent in Sanyog Tamang’s house since then,” she said today. “Apart from the stipulated rent, I have been paying the maintenance charges to Uttarayon authorities and also electricity bills on a regular basis. Things were fine. But for past one year or so, the Tamang family has, for no reasons or provocation, started misbehaving with me. On January 22, the family forcibly dragged me out of the house and did not even let me in to get my belongings. As of now, I am staying in a hotel in Siliguri,” she added. Pip, who claims to have served with the Royal Air Force in UK, used to run an NGO, but at present is unemployed. The lady has filed complaints with Matigara police and also the Siliguri metropolitan police commissionerate. She alleged that no action was taken by the police. “I have submitted complaints with the police and have also informed the British embassy in Calcutta and Delhi,” she said. Sanyog Tamang gave a different account. “She cannot be considered a tenant as there is no agreement of tenancy. She had been staying in our house since December 27, 2010, and suddenly stopped paying the rent. As the rent dues piled for over 15 months, we had no other option but to tell her to leave,” he said. (TT)