Amnesiac man thought to have died in 2004 tsunami reunited with kin
CHENNAI: A 54-year-old Kovilpatti resident, who had lost his memory and was thought to have died in the tsunami of 2004 in Chennai, was reunited with his family on Tuesday. He was found near a landfill by the Kaaval Karangal unit of the Chennai police through the help of a few NGOs.
S David Durairaj, who had completed a teachers’ training course, got a job at a plastic-mould factory in his hometown in 1990 and got married in 1994. Three years later, when his daughter was two years old, his wife died while giving birth to a son.
police (L) and after reunion (R) | Express
“A few days before the death, Durairaj fought with his wife as he had lost his job. When his wife died, he blamed himself for not having supported his family and left for Chennai in search of a job, leaving his children in the care of his wife’s family,” said Inspector T Mary Raju.
On October 10, the Kaaval Karangal unit received information about a man roaming near a landfill in Tambaram. With the help of an NGO, they provided him with medical treatment. “He slowly regained his memory and told us about Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi. We informed the local police, which traced the man’s family with the help of his photo,” Mary Raju added.
The police said Durairaj got a job at a plastic-mould factory in Chennai in the late 1990s. He remembered suffering a blow to his head but not how and when. He also did not remember how he lost his job. He spent the next two decades as a ragpicker and his mental health steadily declined.
The man’s family, the police said, had thought that he died in the tsunami as a relative had spotted him roaming on the Marina in 2004. They conducted his last rites and had been observing his death anniversary for the past 19 years. His son is now 25 years old, and his daughter is married and has children.