Kundapur: Did TV Reality Show Claim Life of Young Kartik?
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, May 7: Umesh Shirur, father of Kartik, a brilliant boy who had just passed his ninth standard final examination with 98% marks but was found dangling from the end of a sari tied around his neck at his home when he was alone, squarely blames the television channels that encourage young children to try something strange and adventurous, which sometimes go to the extent of claiming the young, innocent lives.
Umesh, father of ill-fated Kartik Shirur, a SDE in BSNL Udupi, had been posted for training in Jabalpur while his wife Shobha and younger son Kaushik had been to Shirur near Byndoor, to take part in some religious programmes. To be able to take part in the badminton tournament held in Manipal on Friday, Kartik stayed back in his home near Sharada Kalyana Mantap, Udupi, alone. He was scheduled to reach Shirur on Saturday bur after learning that he had not come there, his father contacted his relative Dinesh who too lives in Udupi, to find out personally the reasons. Dinesh went to Umesh’s home, and after getting no response to repeated knocks and calls, broke the door open. He found to his dismay, that Kartik was dangling from the end of a sari, the other end of which had been tied to a chair, after passing through a iron hook at the roof. Kartik's feet were nearly touching the floor while the chair was hanging a little higher from the floor.
Umesh says, Kartik was influenced by a similar situation aired in the MTV 'Roadies' programme in which the contestants were made to escape from the noose. He said, he also found on May 5, that Kartik had recorded a five-minute piece of this programme in his computer. The scene of the suicide, Kartik's interest in adventure shows telecast in TV channels and the piece of the reality show recorded in the computer, all point out to the fact that he tried the adventure when he was alone. His interest in such shows not only took away a young life, but also has pushed the entire family to the abyss of grief and guilt, Umesh says.
We have heard and read about several such cases in the past. Young minds get influenced by such shows and they are unable to apprehend the dangers lying ahead. Many young lives would have been lost the way Kartik has, but would have gone unreported, treating them as just suicides. Will the electronic media sit up to the worsening scenario and take notice and realize that they also have social responsibilities, in addition to serving their own commercial interests?