Kochi: It was a rare display of redemption. Kochi Metro took on board as a star passenger the differently abled man who was ridiculed on social media for taking a nap inside the coach.
Eldho, who cannot speak or hear, found himself at the center of a vicious campaign on social media after he dozed off on his first metro ride on June 22. Sadistic forwards tried to portray him as a drunkard.
His son and mother later clarified that he was heartbroken after visiting his critically ill brother in the General Hospital in Kochi. Eldho, however, found it difficult to leave his house at Kidangoor in Angamaly even for work.
The Kochi Metro Rail Limited apologized to Eldho and offered him a free travel card worth Rs 2,000. Eldho eventually accepted the card from KMRL managing director Elias George and returned to the Metro with pride on Friday.
He told George, through an interpreter, that he was not a drunkard. The managing director assured him that he knew it and apologized for the humiliation on everyone’s behalf.
Eldho, his wife and two children live in a modest house on six cents.
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