Bindu Upadhyay and her children at Golabari police station on Thursday. Picture by Gopal Senapati

Bindu Upadhyay, a 28-year-old homemaker, and her three children — Deepak (9), Sachin (7) and Ishu (4) — are spending sleepless nights since December 29, fearing a fresh assault by their landlord. Police have turned a blind eye to the plight of the family in Howrah.

Ashrafilal Sahu, his sons Rajkumar and Manoj, both in their early 20s, and a relative, Sona Raut, beat up Bindu and her kids after she refused them access to the terrace of 28 Sanatan Mistry Lane for a late-night drinking session.

Bindu — whose husband Pradip is an electrical technician in Mumbai — lodged a complaint with Golabari police station the same night, only to face a fresh round of harassment from her landlord the next day.

“My single-room flat is on the terrace. Ashrafilal and his sons wanted to drink and so they asked me to open the gate leading to the terrace. I refused, as they are known to make trouble after a drinking binge,” Bindu told Metro on Thursday evening.

Ashrafilal, owner of the four-storeyed building, then stormed off to his third-floor room, picked up the keys and opened the gate leading to the terrace.

“Despite my protests, they kept on drinking. They also abused me and threatened me with dire consequences. When I confronted them, they slapped me. They did not even spare my children when they came to my rescue,” alleged Bindu.

The building has around 15 tenants and all of them have rallied around Bindu. “Ashrafilal Sahu is a menace, but we dare not protest as he keeps boasting of his connections with the cops,” said one of the tenants, on condition of anonymity.

The police have taken no action despite two complaints being lodged — on December 29 (general diary No. 3392) and then on December 31 (general diary No: 3589).

“My husband flew down to Calcutta on December 30 and accompanied me to the police station. He flew back the next day as the cops promised action. But I am living in constant fear as my landlord is pressuring me to withdraw the complaints,” said Bindu.

Officers of Golabari police station have, she claimed, advised her to “settle the matter” with her landlord.

But the officers denied their involvement in attempting a patch-up between landlord and tenant.

Ashrafilal denied the charges levelled against him by Bindu.

“I don’t know why she is trying to malign me,” he told Metro.

“We are looking into the matter and will take action against the landlord if he is found guilty,” said Niraj Kumar Singh, the superintendent of police (Howrah).