BENGALURU: In a strange case, an inebriated man gave away his two-year-old daughter to another drunk man, who met each other at a bar and were friends for just a few hours. The man who took the girl abandoned her at a bus station in Tamil Nadu after he came out of his drunken stupor. The girl was saved by the local police and was returned to her mother.
The girl’s father, Surya, and the man who took her away, Pandiyan, have been arrested by the Jnanabharathi police. Both the accused are around 30-years-old and are daily wage workers. Surya hails from Bagalkote, while Pandiyan is from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.
Surya had gone to a bar a few days ago where he met Pandiyan. Surya bought a drink for Pandiyan and later took him to his shed to offer some more drinks. While both were discussing their families, Surya told Pandiyan that he had three daughters and it was difficult for him to bear the family expenses. Pandiyan reportedly told him that he always wanted a girl child but had three sons.
“When Pandiyan said that he would take one of the daughters, Surya readily agreed. The girl’s mother Renuka was shocked, but brushed it aside thinking it was just drunken banter. Around 4 pm, Pandiyan took the girl along with him, and Renuka assumed that he would be back with the girl by night. But as he did not return, Renuka picked up a quarrel with Surya, who threatened her of dire consequences if she told anyone about it,” the police said.
Renuka got in touch with an NGO, who filed a complaint two days after the incident. The police traced Pandiyan to Tiruvannamalai, but he told them that he abandoned the girl at the town bus station as he was scared that his wife would pick a fight with him. “We approached the local police and they had luckily saved the girl and had handed over her to the local Child Welfare Committee. The girl was brought to the city,” the police said. Both the accused have been charged under Section 370 and under the Juvenile Justice Act.
