Kushalnagar: The story of a little girl who made an appeal through an open letter to Kodagu Deputy Commissioner, MLAs and to the staff of Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to find her late mother’s mobile phone which has been stolen from a KIMS ward has gone viral. This has drawn the attention of Director General and Inspector General of Police Praveen Sood who has said, “Our team is on the job to trace the phone.”

Holding the letter in her hand, Hrithiksha, daughter of a painter in Kushalnagar, has said that the phone had some of the best photos and videos of her mother showing the happy moments of the family, snatched by the killer epidemic now. “Please find and return my mother’s phone,” she had appealed. Star of Mysore had published a story yesterday titled ‘My late mother’s phone is filled with her memories’. 

Hrithiksha hails from Basappa Extension in Gummanakolli village near Kushalnagar and has been living with her father Naveen. They are under quarantine now and have recovered from COVID. While handing over the belongings of her mother, the Hospital authorities did not return the phone, raising suspicion that some of the Hospital staff had stolen the phone. 

Also, there were many complaints regarding theft of valuables from KIMS, the designated COVID Hospital at Madikeri and the absence of CCTV cameras inside the wards. A complaint was lodged in Kushalnagar Police Station and Praveen Sood tweeted later.

Meanwhile, the DC has asked Madikeri Town Police to trace the phone. 

Dr. Kushwanth Kolibail from KIMS told reporters that there were over 10 mobile phones at KIMS that have not been claimed by the relatives of the victims who have lost their lives. “If any of the phones is found to be that of Hrithiksha’s mother, it will be handed over to the family,” he added. 

Responding to the viral story, National Youth Congress President B.V. Srinivas and Karnataka Youth Congress leader Mohammed Harris Nalapad have sent a new mobile phone to the girl and the phone was handed over to Hrithiksha yesterday by S.P. Haneef and other Youth Congress members. The youths also promised to help Hrithiksha in online education.