The medal winners’ gallery at Sunday’s Republic Day celebrations on the Marina beach front was naturally brimming with excitement. But for some of the attendees, the heroic deeds of their loved ones had come at a cost.
While Thiagarajan was mourning the death of his son Akesh, Ashokakumari was waiting for her son, Fristan Franklin, to walk again.
Akesh and Franklin were part of a group of men whose timely intervention saved a woman from being abducted. But while trying to rescue her, Akesh lost his life and Franklin sustained injuries. Akesh was the youngest of Mr. Thiagarajan’s three sons, and his family is now hoping for government support with regard to job opportunities for his siblings. “I would have been happy if I was to receive the medal from the Chief Minister with my son, but that is not the case now,” Mr. Thiagarajan said. Ms. Ashokakumari is worried about how her son would be able to take care of his wife and daughter. “My son got married recently, and had a child only last October. His medical treatment is being taken care of only through government support,” she said.
