India: Kerala girl alleges harassment by people who helped her get donations for mum's surgery
Good-hearted souls donated Dh414,864 for her mother’s surgery, four times what was needed
Dubai: A viral Facebook post last month, helped Varsha Zirwa, a girl from the Indian state of Kerala, get the money she needed for her ill mother’s treatment. Good Samaritans on social media ended up donating nearly four times the money she required. However, now, the man who initially helped her, by posting about her situation on Facebook, wants to manage her bank account, and all the excess money she received.
Reportedly, Zirwa, a native of Kannur district, has alleged that those who helped her with the situation, are now pressurising her for the excess contribution that she received, in her plight to meet her mother's liver transplant expenses.
On June 24, charity workers, Sajan Kecheri and Firoz Kunnamparambil, posted a video of Zirwa requesting help on Facebook asking people to support for her mother's treatment. The post seeking Rs19 lakh (Dh92,735) went viral, and she received donations of over Rs85 lakh (Dh414,864) from people within 24 hours of the social media post. She had to request on social media to stop the contributions as she had more than enough.
Zirwa's recent post came a day after Sajan posted a video accusing her of not helping others despite receiving excess funds.
Reportedly, Cochin city police assistant commissioner (special branch) Sivan Kutty told a local news source that a complaint had been received, and a case was registered against four people including social worker Sajan Kechery who helped her.
Zirwa was the living donor for her mother’s liver transplant surgery. A living-donor liver transplant is a surgical procedure in which a portion of the liver from a healthy living person is removed and placed into someone whose liver is no longer working properly. The surgery was on Thursday and medical reviews are pending. She said in her latest post that she and her mother were under observation at a house near the hospital at Cochin, post-surgery.
The college student alleged that Sajan and others were continually pressurising and torturing her to share the excess money and were directing many others to contact her seeking financial assistance for treatment. Sajan even demanded rights to handle her bank account.
Zirwa, and her mother who works at an ice cream shop, come from a poor family in Taliparamba city in Kannur district of Kerala. The girl said that she was not hesitant to help others, and has already helped another woman facing similar issues.