In a shocking incident, a homeless man from Kerala who used to clean and pay floral tributes at a bust of former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was found dead earlier this week. The man identified as Shivadasan was found dead in Marine Drive, Kochi where he has been living on the streets.
Though it was initially thought that the 63-year-old died of natural causes, the injury marks on his body triggered suspicion of foul play, and during a police investigation, it was revealed that in fact Shivadasan was murdered.
Shocking revelation
But the reason for the brutal killing has left many shocked – jealousy. Shivadasan who is a native of Kollam district had come to Kochi a few years ago as a carpenter and has been living on the streets ever since. But he had gone viral on social media for a noble act.
Ardent Kalam Fan
Shivadasan was a huge admirer of the former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam whom he had met twice when he was in Kerala. While Shivadasan was living on the street he saw a bust of the former President, that was left unattended.
Pained by the sight, Shivadasan himself cleaned the bust and collected flowers from nearby trees to lay some flowers there. This later became the daily routine of Shivadasan, who made a living by collecting and selling scrap who continued it for more than three years, until his death.
But after his noble act was highlighted in local media and videos of him went viral on social media, several people had reached out to him, offering financial supper and even a house for him.
This, however, did not go down well with another street dweller, identified as Rajesh who used to fight with Shivadasan demanding money from him. On Tuesday night, Rajesh who was in an inebriated state fought with the elderly man and killed him in a fit of rage.
During the interrogation, the 40-year-old that he was jealous of Shivadasan’s fame on social media and killed him out of anger. Pained by the sight, Shivadasan himself cleaned the bust and collected flowers from nearby trees to lay some flowers there.
This later became the daily routine of Shivadasan, who made a living by collecting and selling scrap who continued it for more than three years, until his death. But after his noble act was highlighted in local media and videos of him went viral on social media, several people had reached out to him, offering financial supper and even a house for him.
