30 May,2017 08:15 AM IST | Pune | Chaitraly Deshmukh
75-yr-old divided his land worth crores between his 3 sons, on the promise they would give him Rs 5,000 each as monthly maintenance, but is now left to work in other farms, beg on the streets
Baban Dasharath Divekar and his wife Saraswati
Like a doting, dutiful father, this 75-year-old farmer divided his land worth Rs 2 crore between his three sons, on the promise that all of them would give him Rs 5,000 each as monthly maintenance. But the sons broke their word, and that has broken his heart. Having to beg to survive, Baban Divekar and his wife Saraswati have now knocked on the court's doors for justice.
Baban and Saraswati (70), residents of Karde village in Shirur, have been reduced to going to other people's farms and working there for their daily sustenance. The elderly couple said that at times, when there is no work, they are forced to beg on the streets.
The couple has filed a case against their three sons - Balasaheb (50), Kisan (45) and Chandrakant (40) - with the help of lawyers Shivshankar and Sonal Hilal under section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code for maintenance.
The first two sons are from Baban's first wife, and the third from Saraswati.
Broken words
Baban, a TB patient, and had 19 acres of land in Shirur, which he divided between his sons, all of them entering into a mutual verbal agreement, that each one of them would give the aged couple Rs 5,000 every month.
"On August 24, 2016, I handed over my land to my boys. For the first two months, they all sent money, but later, they started dilly-dallying. When I visited their homes, they just made me run around from one's house to the other's. It amazes me now to think about how sweetly they used to talk to me before getting the property," he said.
"I took a lot of pains to raise my children; my eldest son is a teacher and earns Rs 50,000 a month, while the other two are well-to-do farmers. Age has been taking its toll on me and my wife. I already have TB, for which I have to spend Rs 2,000-3,000 on medicines.
"It's been almost seven months now that I am working on others' farms, as well as begging, to earn enough daily to buy food supplies. After our sons abandoned us, a few villagers helped us; but they, too, will provide for us for a day or maybe a month; who can afford to on a daily basis for longer than that?"
Baban added, "For the last two weeks, I have been begging outside our village temple; I accumulate the loose change given by devotees, and buy whatever food I can with it."
Saraswati said, "Our daughter Seema, despite being married, is helping us. Even after having three sons, and raising them with so much love and pain, we've been left in this state with no one to look after us."
The other side
When called, both Balasaheb and Kisan feigned ignorance about the whole case and merely said, "There's been some misunderstanding."
Chandrakant, on the other hand, said, "I am a farmer and already suffering losses. Whenever I get some money, I first give some of it to my parents. I have even asked them to come and stay with me, as their hut is unlikely to withstand the test of monsoon."
