A slight bow with folded hands and then the sign of the cross. That's how Partho De bid farewell to his father Arabindo De at 9pm on Wednesday.

In the "VIP" enclosure of the Keoratola crematorium, there was no family member or relative to keep Partho company. Only a few policemen and the employees of the crematorium.

Clad in a creaseless grey shirt and black trousers, an unshaven Partho entered the chamber and walked around the remains of his father, wrapped in black plastic, once before doing the mukhagni. Then, hands folded and head bowed, his eyes seemed transfixed on his father.

Partho marked the cross across his chest, mumbling a prayer, eyes closed. The next moment, he turned back to leave.

The charred body that had been found in the De residence on 3 Robinson Street two weeks ago was pushed into the electric furnace even as Partho walked off, not showing any emotion.

Surrounded by four policemen, he had dutifully followed a crematorium hand's instructions without needing to be told twice about any of the rituals.

The last rites done, he walked up to the police van for the return trip to Pavlov hospital, where he has been kept since June 11, a day after his father was found dead and he told the police that he had been living with his sister's corpse for months in the hope that she would come back to life.

Before Arabindo's cremation on Wednesday evening, Partho had refused to sign documents pertaining to his father's death. He agreed only at the intervention of Father Rodney Borneo of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, the priest who had stood beside him in Pavlov hospital when the police wanted to question him.

Metro tracked the happenings before Partho's first public appearance in a fortnight.

Partho relents

Police sources said the decision to cremate Arabindo was taken on Monday and, according to Partho's wishes, they had approached the Yogoda Satsanga Society to help in performing the last rites. "But the society gave us in writing that it didn't want to interfere in what was a family matter," a police officer said.

On Tuesday, the police again approached Partho in the presence of doctors at Pavlov hospital but he apparently refused to claim his father's body. He asked the administration to "do the needful".

When the police team was returning, they received a call from the hospital saying that Partho wanted to "change his statement".

He had agreed to claim his father's body.

Sources said that after giving his nod to the police, Partho had a telephone conversation with Father Rodney on Wednesday morning, asking him whether he should cremate his father.

"Father Rodney explained to him that Wednesday was a very auspicious day to cremate his father because Sister Nirmala was also being laid to rest," a source said.

Partho was convinced it was the right thing to do.

VIP slot booked

Sources in the administration said elaborate arrangements had been made not only to make the procedure hassle-free for Partho but also to ensure that the cremation remained "under wraps". It was Partho's special request to Father Rodney that he didn't want "people to ask him too many questions or harass him".

Unlike previous occasions when the crematorium staff would be informed about a VIP slot being blocked much in advance, it was only after 6pm that those in Keoratola came to know about such a booking.

Around the same time, Partho was taken from Pavlov hospital to SSKM, where the papers pertaining to Arabindo's death were waiting to be signed. Nobody from the hospital accompanied him out of Pavlov.

Ganesh Prasad, the superintendent of Pavlov hospital, said: "He behaved as any other person aware of his father's death when asked to go to SSKM Hospital to sign some papers... Partho De has responded to treatment and is quite well now. That's why we felt confident to let him go with the police, who said they were going to escort him back to Pavlov after the formalities."

The police's plan was to take Partho to SSKM to sign the documents and then move to Keoratola with his father's remains for a hush-hush cremation.

About-turn

At SSKM, Partho refused to sign the papers. According to sources, he didn't cite any reason for it to the police. After a lot of persuasion, he agreed to "co-operate" only if "Father" came to meet him.

Father Rodney, who was at the funeral mass of Sister Nirmala when Partho demanded his presence at SSKM, was informed. Immediately after Sister Nirmala was laid to rest around 7pm, Father Rodney's phone started buzzing. It was a call from SSKM.

Sources said Partho confided in the priest that he had objections to the word "inquest" in the papers and he feared that he would be held responsible for the death of his father.

"He asked Father Rodney to read the documents and said he would sign them only if he gave the green signal," a source said. "Father Rodney explained to him that there was nothing incriminating in the documents and that he was only releasing the body and would not be held responsible for his father's death."

Last journey

By the time Partho was convinced, it was 8.35pm.

Partho was ushered into a police vehicle while his father's body was taken out of the SSKM morgue and put in a hearse with a blue beacon. The two vehicles kept pace with each other, though the hearse made it to the crematorium a few minutes before the police vehicle did.

The main gate at Keoratola had been cordoned off with guard rails to keep away curious onlookers. The VIP chamber was locked the minute Partho stepped in with the body. Then came the final goodbye - from son to father.

Additional reporting by Jhinuk Mazumdar and Rith Basu