Police officer helps with the last rites of Irula tribal in Villupuram

With the mother quarantined, the boy, staying with his father who had head injuries, was even unaware of his death, police said

Superintendent of Police S Jayakumar handing over ₹5,000 as immediate relief to a tribal boy after his father died due to injuries sustained in a road accident on Saturday.

Villupuram district Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar played the role of a Good Samaritan to a 10-year-old tribal boy and helped with the last rites of his father who died following serious head injuries sustained in a road accident.

Police sources said that 35-year-old M. Iyyanar, belonging to the Irula tribal community in Nallapalayam in Villupuram district, had met with a road accident two months ago and sustained head injuries.

He was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGH) in Chennai. But with the hospital receiving a large number of COVID-19 patients, the hospital authorities directed the discharge of Iyyanar as there was the risk of the patient getting infected.

His wife Dhanam and mother Muniammal had brought him back to his native village. In the meanwhile, it was suspected that the two women had contracted the disease and hence they were admitted to the government general hospital in Villupuram while Iyyanar and his son Jeeva were staying at home.

Iyyanar died in his home on Saturday and Jeeva who was staying with him was practically unaware of the death of his father, police said.

“Since the wife and mother of the deceased were in hospital for treatment of suspected COVID-19, none of his relatives and people from the village and in the neighbouring hamlets turned up as they apparently feared of the possibility of being infected in case Iyyanar too had the coronavirus,” said R. Murugappan, coordinator of Pazhangudi Irular Paadukappu Sangam (PIPS).

Mr. Jayakumar, who came to know of the death arranged for the funeral of the tribal, and also offered ₹5000 to the young boy as an immediate relief. The wife and his mother also got permission from the hospital and attended the funeral and returned to the hospital, police sources said.