It has been 10 months since chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee promised financial help to nine-year-old Somsubhra. However, the elder son of sergeant Bapi Sen ? beaten to death by five off-duty constables on the last night of 2002 for protesting against eve-teasing ? is yet to receive any aid from the government.

The benefits of a posthumous gallantry award have also not reached the family of the dead cop.

On February 7, the chief minister, after giving away the award to Sen?s wife Soma at a function on the Maidan, had asked her to meet him at the Secretariat.

On February 9, Soma, along with brother-in-law Anup Sen, met Bhattacharjee and former commissioner of police Sujoy Chakraborty. During the meeting, the chief minister had promised re-admission of Somsubhra at Vivekananda Mission, Behala, and financial aid for his studies.

?We are grateful to the chief minister and the police commissioner for arranging his re-admission. But we have not received any financial assistance from the state government,? Soma said on Sunday. ?They must be very busy. I found it beneath my dignity to remind them of the matter time and again.?

After the meeting, Soma had written letters to formally seek help from the chief minister and the police commissioner.?We received the acknowledgements of the letters, but nothing else,? she said.

Anup Sen said that an institute from Mumbai had also promised help but had not done anything after that. ?The benefits of the gallantry award have not been made available to Soma till date. We have informed the home department about this,? he added.

The benefits include a monthly allowance for the widow, free rail travel and concession on air fares.

Not every one has forgotten the braveheart sergeant?s family, though. Two private schools are providing financial support for the cop?s son.

?The amount is used for paying the school fees but it is difficult to meet the other expenses,? Soma said.

Three-year-old Shankhasubhra, the younger son of Bapi Sen, who was a toddler when his father died on January 6 after battling for life in a private hospital in the city, has also got admitted to a local school. ?It will be difficult to meet the educational expenses of my sons. I do not know what to do,? Soma said.