The elderly couple posing happily inside their flat.
The elderly couple, who spent more than a week on stairs outside their house in a Greater Noida society, finally entered the house on Thursday night. This brings to an end their over week-long ordeal during which they were forced to stay on stairs in front of their house along with all the belongings. The couple - Sunil Kumar and Rakhi Gupta - owns a flat on the 15th floor in Shri Radha Sky Garden Society in Greater Noida's Sector 16B but couldn't enter the house due to a fight with the tenant, a woman. The couple had told NDTV that the rent agreement expired a month ago, yet the woman was not letting them enter their own house.
After finally getting the possession of their property, Mr Kumar and Ms Gupta were extremely happy. According to other members of the housing society, tears of joy rolled down their cheeks. The couple even posed for photographs.
However, the tenant has still not removed her belongings from the house and has sought one more day to do so. The couple has agreed to her request.
Ms Gupta, meanwhile, posted a statement on Twitter thanking everyone who supported them.
Speaking to NDTV on Thursday, the duo had said that the tenant assured to vacate the flat but waited with bated breath wondering if she would keep her promise.
The couple spent more than a week at stairs outside their home.
Ms Gupta repeatedly broke down while talking about her suffering. "We gave our flat on lease to Ms Preeti in July 2021. The term of the lease was 11 months, which ended last month. And we also intimated her two months ago to vacate the flat since we had to shift here. But she did not pay any attention to our messages, and kept delaying it," she had said.
Mr Kumar was working for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in Mumbai and retired in March this year. They shifted from Mumbai to Greater Noida on the assurance of the tenant. The couple stayed at a relative's place after coming to Greater Noida, hoping that the woman would vacate the flat.
Mr Kumar said that the rent agreement was proper. "It expired on June 10 this year and we duly followed all the procedures, notifying the tenant two months ago on April 19. She replied to my message saying 'okay' and we shifted along with all our belongings on her assurance," he said.
The couple had approached the police, but they said it's a civil matter and asked them to approach the court.