Father turns cruel enough to torture, abandon his son

Mangalore Today News Network

Belthangady, Jan 12, 2015: In a shocking and inhuman incident reported from Belthangady,  a man labelled his very own son as orphan and not only barred him entry into the house, but also tortured him by giving him  electric shock. The  son who lost his speech due to the torture  and  was abandoned by his very own father was traced at Dharmasthala on January 11, Sunday.

This was how, the young man  narrated his  story in writing. He is Annappa (21), son of Siddartha Iyer of Shantinagar in Aldoor taluk of Chikkamagaluru district. His mother passed away when he was a two year old child. His father later had a second marriage.  Annappa who was living like an orphan did his BBM from the National College in Bengaluru. 

Later he began working as a computer operator at the Horanadu Sri Annapoorneshwari Temple for a monthly salary of Rs 8000. His family which came to know about  him, relieved him of his job. At home, he was given electric shock which left him dumb. Later he was admitted to the orphanage at Whitefield in Bengaluru. On January 6, his father, and mother’s relatives , a total of five persons made him an Ayyappa Vrithadhari and took him to Shabarimale. Later they abandoned him on the banks of river Pampa and left home. A dumb and desperate  Annappa contacted the  information centre of Shabarimale Temple. There on coming to know that he is from Karnataka, they sent him with a team of Ayyappa Vrithadharis form Honnavar.

The group on their return from Shabarimale  were in Dharmasthala on a pilgrim tour on January 11, Sunday. There they  spoke to Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Hegde about the young man. Dr Heggade immediately asked them to inform the police. Thus he was taken to custody by the Belthangady police where he narrated his woes in writing and through sign language. But the authenticity of his statement is yet to be verified. However he has  tried to convey the message that he would not return home for any reason and also feared his life as he has 150 acre land in his name.

Speaking about the case, SP Dr Sharanappa has said the youth would be hospitalised and further action would be taken once he is able to talk.