Raise your sons to be compassionate: After Infosys techie's murder in Chennai, a commuter writes open letter to all parents

The brutal murder of 24-year-old S Swathi at the Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai has once again sparked debates on women’s safety, lack  of security measures on suburban trains and the shortage of police personnel.

On Friday, around 6.30 am, the IT professional was waiting at the station, when a man attacked her with a sickle. Swathi was left bleeding on the spot, while her attacker managed to escape before the police arrived. Police suspect the assailant to be Swathi’s close acquaintance and are questioning the victim’s relatives and friends to get to him.

Muthu Veerappan, a daily commuter from Nungambakkam station, who saw Swathi’s body lying in a pool of blood, wrote an impassioned letter on the T he New Indian Express  urging parents to teach their sons moral values. He asked parents to not aspire to have kids who are doctors or engineers, rather have children who are good compassionate people.

“Stop advising your ward to learn BE or MBBS. Stop prodding your ward to earn more than your neighbor’s son. Stop asking for dowry. Rather, urge him to have compassion towards others and love his friends and siblings unconditionally. Nudge him to refrain from anger, aggression, and violence. Tell him about the pain you underwent when delivering him. Make him understand the value of a life. Ask him to donate blood. Let him realize the value of each drop of blood. Show him the way of life that others will be proud of,” he wrote.

Swathi, a resident of Choolaimedu and an employee of Infosys, was waiting to board a suburban train, when the gruesome incident took place.

The body had been retrieved and sent for postmortem, police said, adding various angles were being probed to find out the assailant and also ascertain the motive behind the killing.

The IT giant Infosys also released a response to the murder and described the incident as “unfortunate” and said it was cooperating with investigating officials.

“We are saddened by the unfortunate incident that has led to the demise of our employee in Chennai. We are working with the local authorities as they investigate the matter and will continue to provide our co-operation and support,” it said in a statement.

“Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the family of the deceased. Infosys will provide all the necessary support to the family in their hour of grief,” it further said.

With inputs from PTI