In a heartless act, a 42-year-old man threw his six-year-old daughter into the Adyar river before jumping into the water body on Monday morning. But unmindful of the stench, two youngsters jumped in and saved the girl. The father is suspected to have drowned.
Augustine (42), his wife Vimala Rani, daughter Rosalin (6) and their son Dinesh (9), residents of Injambakkam, boarded a bus to Adyar and got down before the Thiru Vi Ka Bridge. “They were heading to a hospital,” said Adyar police inspector K.Gopal.
At 9.15 a.m, when they were walking on the bridge, Augustine lifted his daughter and threw her into the river. He then tried to throw Dinesh, but his wife held on to her son tightly. Augustine then climbed the wall and jumped into the river.
A marketing executive with a Tamil daily, Dinesh Babu, who was riding to his office, noticed the crowd on the bridge. “I saw a little girl and a middle aged man struggling for life,” said Babu. He jumped into the river and saved the girl.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Saravanan joined Dinesh in the rescue effort carrying a rope and helped them reach the bank safely.
Saravanan, who works as a tennis coach in Ramapuram, said, “I was parking my bike, when I spotted some persons in the water. Immediately, I rushed to save them.”
The girl was rushed to the Children’s Hospital, Egmore. “She is out of danger,”said doctors. Augustine could not be traced.
