KOCHI: “We don’t know how long we have to wait for the release of the mortal remains of our mother. I have lodged several complaints but no decision has been taken to hand over the mortal remains. We want to perform the last rites at our native place, in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu,” said R Selvaraj, younger son of Padmam, one of the victims in the Elanthoor human sacrifice incident.
Selvaraj said that the mortal remains are still kept at the mortuary of Kottayam Medical College Hospital for conducting DNA examination. “I reached Kochi on September 27 after hearing the missing of my mother. Now after 19 days, I am waiting for the release of the mortal remains,” he added. Selvaraj, an employee of an IT firm in Chennai, could not go for the job for more than a month due to the traumatic developments. Hence he is facing severe financial crunch to meet his daily expenses. If the delay continues, the crisis will turn worse as he might lose his job.
Selvaraj is currently staying with Padmam’s sister Palani Amma in a small room in Kaloor, in the hope that the authorities will be empathetic to their demand. He said that he has lodged complaints to the President, Prime Minister, and National Human Rights Commission in addition to filing complaints once again to Kerala and Tamil Nadu chief ministers on Friday. The mortal remains of Padmam, a 52-year-old lottery seller in the city, were recovered from Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta on October 11. The accused cut the body into 56 pieces after brutally murdering her. The mortal remains were shifted to Kottayam Medical College to conduct a post-mortem examination.
“No one is here to help us. And from the government side also we have not got any help. I humbly request to Kerala government to intervene and hand over my mother’s body to me without delay,” said the petition sent by Selvaraj to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Selvaraj’s elder brother Settu, who works as a teacher with a government school in Tamil Nadu, is the only person who extends help to Selvaraj and Palani Amma. As he joined service this month only, he is also not in a situation to provide financial assistance.
Hearing the plight of the family, T J Vinodh, MLA, and Congress district president Mohammed Shiyas met Selvaraj on Saturday following the direction of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan. “The government should immediately intervene in the matter and take steps to send the mortal remains to their native place. If the DNA examination is delayed it should be conducted in another institution.
Otherwise, the government should provide food and accommodation to the family members. If the government fails to do so Congress will provide them with food and accommodation,” said Mohammed Shiyas.Earlier, relatives of Padmam, who arrived in Kochi to take the mortal remains to their native place, returned to Tamil Nadu owing to procedural delays.