Pundit calls on citizens to protect themselves at funeral of murdered pensioner

NALINI Lal, the grieving granddaughter of murdered Lutchmin Bickram, cried out for justice for her beloved "Grams," at her funeral on Thursday.

“I hope justice favours her,” Lal, said as she briefly eulogised her grandmother who was robbed of her pension during a home invasion on July 7 and brutally beaten to death.

Bickram, 75, had just returned to her Calcutta home from the bank after cashing her pension cheque. She was confronted by an intruder who violently attacked her and stole her purse which contained $3,700 and her identification cards.

Mourners at the funeral on Thursday said they believed the killer was someone Bickram knew. They also said Bickram had received threats but had not reported them to the police.

No arrest has yet been made in this crime.

“We are all suffering a great loss of a mother, the loss of a grandmother, the loss of a sister and all that Tanty was. Tanty was a reserved soul. She gave her life to God and now she walks with God in the afterlife.”

Lal, who said she spent her formative life with her grandmother who bathed and fed her and took her to school up until she was a standard-five student, prayed that Bickram was free and could find peace.

“For most of us, the hardest part is acceptance. Accepting that she is no longer her with us. But the body is a vessel. She lives in our hearts and minds.”

Pundit Ramlal Maharaj who officiated at the service advised, “We have protect ourselves. When we go to the bank we don’t know when we coming out who looking at us, who is watching us."

He asked the age-old question about who should be blamed for the surge in home-invasions and murders and general crime in the country

“Should we blame the police?” he asked, but quickly pointed out, “We can’t have a police standing here watching over us.

“We have to blame the people in the community because they are not properly educated. They have not been brought up in the proper way. They are hungry. They are looking for an easy way to get money.”

In the midst of escalating crime, Pundit Maharaj bemoaned that people can no longer leave their gates open or sit outside of their homes lest they become a target for bandits.

“We are not safe in our own homes,” he lamented

He referred to a video on Facebook which showed a man sitting in his front yard when he was held up, dragged into his home and robbed.

“This is where we are. We can’t even stand up in our own premises. We can’t leave our gates open and say let us wash the car or do something.

“It has become very dangerous. Who is to be blamed? Is it the parents? Can we blame the government?

“In the final analysis, we need to follow the law of the land. The majority of citizens follow the law of the land. The few who do not are creating havoc, problems, and difficulties in many lives.

“We are not safe, we are not happy.”

He said the scripture taught love and obedience to God.

“Never take the name of the Lord out of your hearts or minds. Because when situations like these come, the only one that can help us is God. “

He said many might argue that Bickram’s unnatural death was not the way she should have departed this world.

Nevertheless, he contended, that was her destination and as Bhagwan promised, he will be waiting on the other side to lead her to the afterlife because she was devoted to the Lord and helped many people during her lifetime.

“I pray Bhagwan bless her soul.”

Bickram was cremated at the Waterloo cremation site.