COIMBATORE: Less than a month after a Chennai techie was shamed by local people and some news channels after her child accidentally slipped from her hands and fell on the balcony of their apartment, she was found dead at her paternal home at Karamadai in Coimbatore on Sunday.
Although, the eight-month-old child was miraculously rescued by residents of the apartment complex at Thirumullaivoyal in Chennai after the fall on April 28, the mother, V Ramya, who was already under medication for depression, was unable to overcome the humiliation she suffered following that incident and was crestfallen since then, say sources.
Ramya worked in an IT firm in Chennai. Her husband Venkatesh is also an IT professional.
Ramya and her husband with their child had come to her paternal home in Karamadai two weeks ago.
On Sunday, her parents had gone to attend a function leaving Ramya alone at the house. However, upon their return, they found her lying unconscious. They rushed her to a nearby hospital but to no avail.
According to sources, Ramya was heartbroken since her child accidentally slipped from her hands and fell from the fourth -floor balcony onto the roof on the first floor of their apartment.
Following this, the residents of the apartment came together and managed to rescue the child.
But, as the video of the incident went viral on social media, Ramya was severely shamed for her "carelessness" in taking care of the child. The media also accused her for 'letting the accident happen'.
Residents of the apartment and other onlookers who gave bytes to news channels made thoughtless statements insinuating her 'failure as a mother.'
"The mother is already feeling extremely guilty for letting this happen... I was there with her when the incident happened," a neighbour of Ramya had said to one of the television channels covering the news requesting the media to be sensitive and not to add to the grief of the mother.
"Let's not exacerbate this further," she had pleaded.
Meanwhile, the Karamadai police have registered a case and are investigating.
(To overcome suicidal thoughts, contact the health department's helpline 104 or the Vidiyal helpline run by Coimbatore police at 0422-2300999)