While the Madras High Court had ordered the state government to prohibit the download of TikTok in the state, the app has come to the aid of a woman whose husband had abandoned her three years ago. She was able to find him on TikTok.
The incident happened in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. Jayapradha and Suresh were married and had two children. In 2016, Suresh, a native of Krishnagiri, left home for work and did never return.
Jayapradha inquired with Suresh’s friends and relatives and when she did not get any leads, she went on to file a police complaint. Though an FIR was registered, listing Suresh as a ‘missing person’, there was no development in the case as per reports.
Recently, one of Jayapradha’s relatives stumbled upon a video on TikTok, in which she recognised a man looking very similar to Suresh along with a trans woman.
Sceptical about this, the relative immediately alerted Jayapradha and showed her the video, after which she confirmed that the man was indeed her husband.
She rushed to the Villupuram police station and alerted the officials, who then traced Suresh and the trans woman to Hosur with the help of trans persons association in Villupuram.
On questioning, it was revealed that Suresh left home since he was not happy with some developments in the family. He had fled to Hosur and had settled down as a mechanic in a tractor company. He was also in a relationship with a trans woman. The police counselled the couple and have sent them home.
A few months ago, the Madras High Court had ordered a ban on TikTok, citing concerns of child safety. Before this, Tamil Nadu’s MLA Thamimun Ansari had also sought a ban on the app due to prominence of obscene content, to which the state government had agreed to enforce a ban. On 24 April, Madras HC lifted the ban on further downloads of TikTok.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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