“I always believed I would get back the phone,” said nine-year-old Hrithiksha, a nine-year-old from Kodagu, after the police found her deceased mother’s phone and handed it back to her on Thursday, August 19. District Superintendent of Police Kshama Mishra handed the phone to the girl with a chocolate bar. Earlier, in May, Hrithiksha had written a heartfelt appeal to Deputy Commissioner Charulatha Somal, former minister and BJP MLAs KG Bopaiah and Appachu Ranjan and to the staff of Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), seeking help in recovering her mother’s phone.
"My father did not believe me all these days. Pictures of my mother, data related to my online classes are all intact," Hrithiksha told IANS. Her father, TR Naveen Kumar was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that he was delighted the phone was found, as his daughter was finally happy to receive it after being upset about it for three months.
Speaking to the media, Kodagu SP said, “We are happy that the mobile phone could be traced and returned. The girl has her mother's memories in the cell phone.” The SP explained that the family recognised the mobile phone and was confirmed through the IMEI number. All the data and pictures in the phone are intact. “Prabha of Kushalanagar, who died of COVID-19 at a COVID-19 hospital in Madikeri, was recovered from a mobile phone that had previously been lost in the hospital. This is a relief for both—Hrithiksha and the Kodagu police,” wrote the SP in a tweet. The police said that hospital staff found the phone near the storeroom and returned it to the dean.
ಮಡಿಕೇರಿಯ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ನಿಂದ ಮೃತರಾದ ಕುಶಾಲನಗರದ ಪ್ರಭಾರವರ ಈ ಹಿಂದೆ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಳೆದುಹೋಗಿದ್ದ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಫೋನ್ ಪತ್ತೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಅವರ ಮಗಳು ಹೃತೀಕ್ಷಾರವರಿಗೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಇದು ಹೃತೀಕ್ಷಾ ಹಾಗೂ ನಮಗೂ ಸಂತೃಪ್ತಿಯ ಕ್ಷಣವಾಗಿದೆ. @DgpKarnataka @IGP_SR_Mysuru pic.twitter.com/nVkN3WtSh6
— SP Kodagu (@KodaguSp) August 19, 2021
Hrithiksha resided with her parents in Kodagu’s Kushalnagar, where her father worked as a daily wage labourer. In May, 2021, the girl, her mother Prabha and her father TR Naveen Kumar tested positive for the coronavirus. Prabha was later shifted to KIMS as her condition worsened, and she succumbed to the infection on May 16 in a hospital in Madikeri. Although Prabha’s belongings were returned to the family, her phone was not among them. This left Hrithiksha heartbroken, as it contained memories of her mother.
Three months ago, a photo of Hrithiksha holding a letter in her hand went viral. In her appeal, she mentioned that the mobile phone has the best photos of her mother, and that their memories are stored in it. The National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the district police in this regard, and the Kodagu police had registered a suo moto case.
(With IANS inputs)
Read: 9-yr-old's heartbreaking plea for mother's memories pushes Kodagu cops to hunt for a cell phone