Railway cop’s aid to ill kids reforms repeat offender

Until three months ago, Rajiv Kumar (32) alias Nanda from Periyapalayam was an accused in several cases by the Avadi, Perambur and Arakkonam Railway police, wanted for robbery and chain snatching cases. When he was caught last time, the police asked why he did not give up his ways, despite having been arrested earlier. It was then that Rajiv Kumar revealed that both his children have complicated ailments — his daughter Sandhya suffers from a heart disease and his son Jayasurya (7) has a kidney problem —  and that he took to petty crimes to provide for their medical needs. 

For Rajiv, who got married to Devi in 2004, things were fine until his children started to fall ill. Unable to cope, Rajiv started neglecting his family and became an alcoholic. He also began stealing from passengers on the train in the Avadi Tiruvallur railway line. “Initially, I used to steal from drunk persons in the railway station. I took away their belongings and food. Gradually, I targeted women who were travelling alone in the trains,” Rajiv told this newspaper. 

The police recovered 30 sovereigns worth gold chains from him. “He sold some and pawned the rest, He had kept the bills for it. So, we recovered it from various shops and returned to the owners,” said Sub-Inspector K Sundararajan. 

Railway Superintendent of Police Vijayakuamar, on seeing Rajiv’s name repeatedly coming up in the crime records, decided to learn his side of story. After hearing about his children, Vijayakumar, also a paediatrician who has worked at the Egmore Children’s hospital earlier, contacted his friends who examined Sandhya. Now, Sandhya had been going for regular check-ups and taking medication while the younger son Jayasurya is also being treated. 

Rajiv is a reformed man now, who sells flowers and samosas on the train along with his wife Devi for a living. He wants to fulfil his dream of purchasing his own autorickshaw and provide for his family after his child gets well. “My wife has all the relevant identity proofs, which I can use to obtain loan from bank,” he said, confidently.