What a Tuesday!

Tuesday was a fair day by all means. Kerala saw the return of the six-year-old Abigail Sara Reji, who was abducted in a car by an unknown gang from Kollam Oyoor on Monday evening while the nation rejoiced to see the rescue workers succeed in bringing out the 41 stranded workers who all spent a horrid 17 days inside the Silkyara tunnel.

Abigail Sara was abducted while she was on her way to tuition class along with her brother Jonathan. The gang came in a Hyundai Amaze car and dragged away Abigail while also injuring her brother who showed valiance and put up a fight brandishing a small stick. Kerala was gripped in anxiety for the next hours as the gang dialled the parents and asked for a ransom of Rs 10 lakhs to release the child. All prayers were heard as Abigail was found on Tuesday noon from Asramam ground by some students of SN college who saw the child sitting alone on a stone bench placed on the ground.

Even as Kerala celebrates the return of Abigail, two pertinent questions remain unanswered. What was the all drama about?; Why did the gang go such puerile in their conduct?; Was this to divert the attention of people from any other major crime that might have happened across the Kollam region on Monday night?

The parents of Abigail are living a middle-class life and are not by any measure the richest people in town. Both of them are private hospital employees. So why did the gang zero them for this crime and ask for ransom, pretty well knowing their financial status? Many in the neighbourhood have now admitted to seeing the same car often in the area.

On another note, the police too should share the blame since they have not yet been able to publicize the arrest of the culprits involved in the abduction. On Monday night, the police stormed in search all across Kerala, stopped vehicles, monitored railway stations, and foraged KSRTC bus stands in some tireless work to find the culprits. However, it is a shame to know that the gang were still roaming scott-free in Kollam under the police's noses.

Both the Silkyara tunnel incident and the Oyoor child kidnapping give a valuable lesson for all: Courage can overshadow any brutal circumstances. We ought to celebrate Tuesday with a toast for two great happenings; 41 workers came out from the dark underbelly of the Silkyara tunnel while Abigail Sara returned home in a sweet ending, Tremendous Tuesday indeed.