The Chitlapakkam police station witnessed a tearful reunion on Thursday. An elderly couple, who had yearned for 10 long years to meet their only grandson, met him, thanks to the efforts of the city police.
Sathiyaseelan Marimuthu and his wife lost contact with their grandchild after their son’s marriage ended a decade ago. Both mother and son migrated abroad.
Even though the boy and his mother would often visit Chennai, the grandparents were barred from meeting their grandson. On one such recent visit, the couple went to meet him again. However, they ended up waiting for hours outside the house, only to be denied a glimpse of him. Devastated, the couple turned to the Commissioner for help. Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan instructed Deputy Commissioner of St. Thomas Mount Muthusamy to facilitate a meeting. He, in turn, got Chitlapakkam Inspector Ramesh to depute two police personnel to the house, where the boy lived with his mother. They convinced the mother to send the boy to the police station to meet his grandparents.
Brief meeting
The boy was brought to the police station, where Mr. Sathiyaseelan and his wife met him. The boy was not able to recognise his grandparents since he had last seen them as a one-year-old.
The meeting lasted all of 10 minutes. Mr. Sathiyaseelan profusely thanked the Commissioner and said, “Hats off to the Chennai police. We are thrilled that they came forward to solve an emotional issue. I thought that I might die before I see my grandson again. So, I gave a petition to Mr. Viswanathan. Despite work pressure, we are happy that they found time and used their negotiating skills and helped me meet my grandson.”