Hadiya village has 24-hour police vigil

Thiruvananthapuram: TV Puram aka Thirumani Venkitapuram is no more a sleepy village in Vaikom in Kottayam district. Ever since the Hadiya case hogged the national headlines, it has become the cynosure of all eyes.

Hadiya’s neighbours recounted to DC the overnight changes they have been witnessing, but they wholeheartedly support the family to brave the odds.

Her parents, K. M. Ashokan and Ponnamma, relocated to a modest single-storey home here almost 15 years ago from nearby Moothedathukavu.

After retiring from BSF as a driver a few years ago, Mr Ashokan used to work for a High Court Judge.

M. V. Vijayan, 76, says his village is abuzz with activities now, especially with a massive police deployment.  “Now we can sleep without the fear of thieves,” he quips.

“With the visit of high profile judicial commissions and other VVIPs, it is no longer a sleepy village.”

He finds Ashokan as a nice man, whose only aim was to make his only daughter a doctor, and she became a homoeopath.

"But things did not go as per his plans,” he says. Another neighbour, Trideep Kumar, 43, said the village has no Muslims, and the majority of them are Ezhavas, including Asokan’s. The rest are Roman Catholics, Nairs, Namboodiris and Dalits.

“Ashokan has never been against his daughter getting married to a Muslim. But not a fanatic,” he says. Her mother Ponnamma is a devout Hindu, unlike Asokan, who is agnostic.