KARUR: Weeks after losing her daughter in the Karur stampede, a woman from Aravakuruchi has appealed to the district authorities to transfer the solatium, given by the government, actor Vijay and a few other political parties, meant for the victim to her two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter.
She said the entire amount (around Rs 35 lakh from government and political parties) was credited to the bank account of her late daughter’s estranged husband. In her petition to the Karur Collector and the Aravakuruchi DSP, G Sudha, a daily wage labourer from Puthupatti, said her daughter G Brindha (22) had been living separately from her husband, B Sudhan, for over a year before her death in the September 27 stampede.
Sudha, who lost her husband 15 years ago and single-handedly raised four daughters, said Brindha had married Sudhan, a construction worker from Kumarandavalasu, three years ago. The couple have a daughter, S Sasvika. However, within 18 months of marriage, Sudhan allegedly left Brindha due to his addiction to alcohol. “Since then, Brindha was living with us and raising her daughter on her own,” Sudha said in her petition, adding that Sudhan had no contact with them until Brindha’s death.
After the tragedy, Sudhan allegedly took custody of the child and the compensation. “I fear he will not care for the child properly and may misuse the funds. I request officials to ensure the money is secured in my granddaughter’s name for her future,” Sudha said.
R Paramasivam, husband of Brindha’s elder sister Vinitha, told TNIE that Brindha had left home around 11 am on the day of the rally after leaving her daughter at her sister’s house. “When she did not return that night, we thought she might have gone to visit a relative admitted in a Karur hospital.
Later, we learned she was among the victims of the stampede,” he said. He added that Sudhan reached the hospital around 3 am the next day and took the child from them despite their objections. “He performed the final rites and refused to let the child stay with us,” Paramasivam said. TNIE’s attempts to contact Sudhan were unsuccessful.
