“I always believed I would get back the phone,” said nine-year-old Hrithiksha, from Kodagu, after the police found her deceased mother’s phone and handed it back to her on Thursday, 19 August.
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 died of COVID-19 at a Madikeri hospital. Her data was recovered from her 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.
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 16 May 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.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)