Stone-pelting victim: Kin, friends mourn a quiet soul

We were working at Accenture in Sholinganallur. Thirumani was an analyst there. Though he didn’t talk much, we were close. He was a reserved person — if I spoke to him for half-anhour, he’d reply with just two sentences.” 

He adds, “But I know he was really looking forward to this vacation with the family as it was a first for us. My sister Sangeetha had accompanied them, but I couldn’t go as I had work. It was a week-long trip, they had visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and were set to enjoy the Srinagar scenery next when this incident happened.” 

Though Ravikumar has been contacted by government officials over the last two days, he is not in a position to listen to assurances. 

“What’s the point now? We all feel defeated. And to think it was just sheer bad luck....,” his voice trails away. Though the driver of the vehicle Thirumani and his family were travelling in warned all the tourists to duck when he noticed the stone pelting, the youngster had his earphones on and was listening to music. So, he didn’t react quickly. Apparently, he sustained severe facial and head injuries and was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. 

Ravikumar adds, “During his short stay in the hospital, apparently he was quite active and even sat up asking for food and other things. But barely two hours later — while the surgery was being prepped — he passed away suddenly. We hear it was due to a stroke, but I’m unsure.” 

“He was an athlete in school and used to run marathons for charity. I accompanied him on these runs as well. These are some of the memories I will always have,” Ravi breaks off. Madan a friend of Thirumani and Ravi, said, “Who should be blamed for it? The protesters? The  tourist operators who organised this? We are at a loss right now. We have just called it fate.” 

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday said that he has spoken to his Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Mehbooba Mufti, seeking her help for the safe return of the 130 Tamil Nadu tourists in the frontier state. Condoling Chennai youth Thirumani’s death, Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to the next of his kin. Tamil Nadu House officials in New Delhi have taken necessary measures with the help of the Jammu and Kashmir government to bring Thirumani’s body back to the state and the safe return of the other tourists. Meanwhile, AIADMK Parliamentary Party leader Dr Venugopal met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the stone-pelting incident in Kashmir in which Thirumani died, and sought his immediate intervention to direct the authorities to nab the culprits responsible for the incident. He also demanded the safety of the other Tamil Nadu tourists currently in Jammu and Kashmir.