Rajeshwari, the mother of Jisha, who was recently murdered, at a hospital.When I went to visit Rajeshwari, the mother of Jisha, who was recently murdered brutally, I saw a person trying to take a selfie with the wailing mother. Perhaps that photograph and video would have spread through social media. However, anyone with some humanity left in them would hang their heads in shame seeing the impropriety of the person who snapped the selfie. Some days ago, I saw an election candidate and his aides waiting to see the mother. I allowed only the candidate to go inside and see the mother. The person soon came back and asked whether a photographer could also be allowed inside.
While it is a commendable act to provide succour to the distressed mother, trying to exploit the situation for cheap publicity is something one cannot comprehend. I enquired whether doctors had administered drugs to provide some relief to the lady who has been wailing and crying continuously. Doctors said that they had given the maximum dose of medicines possible, however, she is not being allowed to rest even for 15 minutes because of the rush of visitors. That is when visitors were strictly controlled by authorities.
After Jisha was killed on April 28, not much support was available for the mother until May 2. Obviously, people rose up in support only when the seriousness of the crime became known.
It is only obvious that such people would be visited by the CM and the opposition leaders. It definitely helps to lift their morale and make them feel secure that the administration is caring for them. But how can one justify the visit of those who simply barge in for no reason and then pose for selfies with the victims? Such attitudes are barbaric. The greatest gift that one can give the mother now is rest and peace.
If the media was not present there, then such people would also have avoided the place. She would have been accompanied only by those who genuinely wanted to help her in her time of need.
When I reached the mother after knowing about the incident, the mother cried on my shoulders. When photographers clicked the scene, I told them not to copy the incident. However, I soon received a video of the same on Whatsapp. Many people also shared what they claimed to be Jisha's body and the photos of the criminal. One is at loss for words to describe such deviant tendencies.
Those who are encouraged to do so, please put yourself in the victims’ shoes. Then you would know what responsible restraint is.
(The author is the district collector of Ernakulam. The views expressed are personal.)
