HIV +ve boy put in sack, hung from tree

CHENNAI: As another World AIDS Day passes by, here is another grim reminder of the stigma. Siva, 3, was left to die in a jute sack hung from a tree in a remote village of Tamil Nadu early this month. An HIV+ve man, who has dedicated his life to the welfare of his ilk, rescued him. Siva is now recuperating.

On November 7, some passers-by heard cries of a baby by the Thenpennar river near Kaveripattinam in Krishnagiri district. They found the baby in a sack, hung from a tree with other bags traditionally used to dump the “afterbirth” of cows. The baby was handed over to Hari Ram, medical officer at Kaveripattinam Government Hospital.

“The baby was a sorry sight, a bag of bones. He is three years old, but looked hardly six months,” says Ram.
They called him Siva and after primary medical aid, sent him to Anand Ashram, the notified adoption centre in the district. The centre found Siva HIV+ve and sent him back to the government hospital. The hospital called up several NGOs, but not many were forthcoming. Finally, on November 12, M Raja Mahendran accepted the baby. Himself an HIV+ve, Mahendran runs an NGO called Dharmapuri District HIV Postive Welfare Society.

“After two days of treatment at Dharmapuri Government Hospital, Siva’s face lit up. That is when I got a call from a woman from Perur in Coimbatore claiming to be his grandma,” says Mahendran. The woman produced proof to claim the boy and out came a sordid tale. His mother Yogambal had died 40 days after his birth. Father Mani had passed on the virus to Yogambal. Siva was being brought up by Yogambal’s mother Kanchana in Perur, when Mani wanted his custody three months ago.

However, as Siva’s health deteriorated, Mani reportedly abandoned him.