CUSAT stampede: Albin Joseph was a source of hope for his family
PALAKKAD: Thaiparambu House was witness to heartrending scenes around Sunday noon when family members and local residents received the body of Albin Joseph, one of the victims of the Cusat campus stampede on Saturday. The mortal remains were brought to the residence in Kottappalla village, near Ezhakad, after postmortem at Kalamassery Medical College Hospital.
A trained electrician who worked on and off in his native village and Thiruvananthapuram, Albin had gone on to complete a fire-and-safety course in Ernakulam, in the hopes of landing a job in the Gulf. He had arrived in Kochi on Saturday morning to visit his sister, Blessy, who works as a nurse in a private hospital in the city. “In the evening, he along with a few friends decided to attend the concert at the Cusat amphitheatre,” says Joseph, Albin’s father, who breaks down narrating his son’s fate. “He was to return home on Sunday morning. We used to play football on Sunday evenings and he promised to join us on time,” noted Jinu, a friend.
“The 22-year-old Albin was a very friendly person who kept away from social vices. His mother is a very pious woman who regularly attends Sunday services at their home parish in Mylampully. His brother, Jibins, works at a private finance firm in Kalladikode. Albin was always ready to help others. The family is from a poor background and his father was a casual labourer who tapped rubber trees for a living,” says Mathew, a family friend.
It was around 7 AM on Saturday morning that Albin set off for Kochi along with a friend. His father had missed payments on a `4 lakh loan availed from Kerala Bank to meet the educational expenses of his three children. And, Joseph and his wife Mercy had hinged their hopes on Albin. The public flowed to their modest home in large numbers to pay homage. Albin’s funeral was held later in the day at Mylampully St Mary’s church.