Lost His Daughter To Fire, This ASI Donates Salary Each Year To Support 600 Students

It is not easy to move on from loss and move forward in life but a Bengaluru police officer is showing us how one can try to move forward with grief and honour the departed through positive action. ASI Lokeshappa D, who is reeling from the loss of his young daughter, is channelling his grief to a positive deed. Lokeshappa D donates his salary of two months every year to support 600 students from classes 1 to 8.  

As per the reports, Lokeshappa D lost his three-year-old daughter in March 2019 to burn injuries sustained due to a garbage fire.

When the officer lost his daughter

On March 5, he received a call from his wife Sudhamani who informed him that their daughter had sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at police quarters in Shivajinagar. The girl, Harshali, was playing when the tragic fire injured her. 

Lokeshappa was posted as the head constable at Cubbon Park Traffic Police Station when the incident happened. Harshali was immediately rushed to Victoria Hospital where her treatment lasted till March 13. After struggling for eight days, Harshali succumbed to her injuries. 

The silver lining in grief

Lokeshappa and Sudhamani were not able to deal with the tragic loss of their only daughter. Harshali loved colouring books. Lokeshappa then found a way to deal with his grief. He decided to give away half of his earnings to support students in remote areas. The money he would have spent on Harhali's education is now being used to support 600 kids. 

Years have passed since that tragic incident. Lokeshappa is now an Assistant Sub-Inspector at Shivajinagar Women's Police Station. But his vow to support kids has not changed. He donates his two-month salary every year to provide essential school supplies to disadvantaged students. He began by supporting one school and now he has adopted six schools. One is in Bengaluru’s Kodigehalli where he is supporting 200 students. The other is in Mysuru and four are in his native area Hassan. In total, he supports 600 students in their education.

The plight of students in rural areas

Lokeshappa said that the education of children in rural areas is often undervalued. Children go to school only to have a mid-day meal. He further added that many parents are capable financially of buying essentials for their children. Yet, they blame the government for not providing the resources like books, pencils, notebooks and pens. The parents believe that if the government is capable of providing books, it should also provide other essentials to the students. 

Lekeshappa decided to support schools significantly in remote areas where the chances of students quitting school due to lack of resources are very high. 

Harshali's mother too will start to support students

Sudhamini, who has been working as a teacher, will quit her job and begin an NGO this year with her daughter's name- the Harshali Foundation. Her goal is to provide free books and stationaries to children from remote areas and economically weaker sections. Her NGO is yet to be registered.