Tamil Nadu: Once a murder convict, she rebuilds broken dreams

KALUTHAIPALI (ERODE): From an orphaned girl trying to find a living as a housemaid in a big city to a murder convict trying to negotiate life after more than a decade behind bars, Revathi Anburaj reveals what it takes to rebuild your life. When the world is observing Women’s Day, she vehemently asks, “How would I celebrate when I was denied justice?”
At the age of 17, Revathi was found guilty of a murder by a sessions court in Bengaluru, which sentenced her to life imprisonment. “The court did not consider my age when I had committed the crime. Justice is not for the poor,” she says.
Born in Chennai, Revathi lost her parents in a road accident when she was a 10-month-old baby. Her grandmother Valar took care of her till the age of five. Later, she was shuttling between many houses doing menial jobs for food and shelter.
When she turned 13, a person in Bengaluru hired her as a maid servant in 2003. With dreams of a better life, she travelled to Bengaluru. “But, the person who hired me, was trying to sell me to a prostitution ring,” Revathi said. After sensing his motive, she tried to escape. The person blocked me and in the altercation he stabbed me 16 times. “In an attempt to escape, I grabbed the knife and slit his throat,” she said. The man died on the spot.
The incident took place on November 15, 2003, and she was hospitalised for 13 days. On November 28, she was lodged at a borstal in Bengaluru. “The trial went on for three years and I was awarded life term in 2006,” she said. The prison officials later shifted her to the Parappana Agrahara prison after she turned 18 years. Revethi lamented that the court did not consider her statement that the murder happened in her bid to protect herself.
In 2008, a group of 35 male prisoners from Mysuru prison had planned to stage a drama for which they sought women prisoners to do women characters. A total of 12 women including Revathi joined the team. Karnataka-based drama artiste Hulugappa Kattimani trained the inmates to perform the play.
During the time Revathi met U A Anburaj, 41, a life-term convict and co-artist in the team in Mysuru prison and expressed her love for him in 2011. After obtaining permission from the prison officials, they got married on March 28, 2011. She gave birth to a baby girl in May 2015.
Meanwhile, Revathi was released from prison on January 26, 2016 considering her good conduct. Out of prison, the world seemed entirely different from what she had seen during her teenage. “I felt that I was a stranger in the world. I did not know what to do next,” she said.
As per her husband’s direction, she came to Kaluthaipali village near Andhiyur in Erode district and joined Anburaj’s family with her daughter. Anburaj was also released from jail on August 15, 2016.
The couple tried their best to get a job to run their family. “But, no one was ready to give us jobs because of our past,” she said. Later, we decided to start an oil press our own. “I had only Rs70,000 in my hand and the cost of the machinery was Rs3 lakh,” she said.
Finally, Anburaj started manufacturing the crushing machine on his own using available materials. He set up the machine with the money they had, started the unit in September 2017 and began producing sesame oil, ground-nut seed oil, coconut oil and castor oil. Initially, the villagers were hesitant to buy oil from them as Anburaj was once associated with forest brigand Veerappan.
Now, Revathi earns up to Rs12,000 a month. She hoped that soon the income would be doubled as many people have started buying oil from them because of its quality. She hopes to start more crushing oil units in the near future.