13-yr-old, cancer-hit girl's tale moves state's rights panel

A 13-year-old girl's desperate plea to her father, made days before she died of cancer, to sell a flat for her treatment, has prompted the State Human Rights Commission to seek a report on the issue from police.
The ill-fated girl, residing with her mother who lived separately from her estranged husband and was unable to meet the cost of her bone marrow cancer treatment, had sent the plea to her father through WhatsApp in a video footage.
In the video footage, she had pleaded with her father to help her mother, as her legal guardian, to sell the flat in Vijawada, which was in her name only, to raise money for her treatment.

"I want to live, Daddy, and complete my tenth class education. I want to play with my friends and be happy. Please let us sell the flat in my name so that mother could afford my treatment," the girl pleaded in the heart-wrenching video.
The girl died early this week, within days after sending her message to her father last week.
The heart-wrenching tale of the deceased girl has another disconcerting note involving allegations that a ruling Telugu Desam Party MLA and his henchmen had tried to grab the property.

MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, however, denied the allegation.
"I have nothing to do with the issue. The girl's father was known to me several years ago but now he has moved out of the city. The allegations against me are baseless," the MLA told reporters.

The deceased girl's mother Suma Sri alleged the MLA's henchmen had tried to grab her apartment in Durgapuram in Vijayawada.
"I wanted to sell the flat, which is in the girl's name, and pleaded with my estranged husband Siva Kumar to facilitate it as he remained the guardian.
"I even pleaded with the MLA not to block the sale of the flat since the money is required for my daughter's cancer treatment. My pleas only fell on deaf ears," Suma Sri rued.
The girl, Sai Sri, had been suffering from cancer for some time now.
Since her parents were separated, her mother, a homemaker, bore her medical expenses.

But as they ran out of cash, Suma Sri contacted her husband and asked him to let the flat be sold to meet their daughter's medical expenses.
Even before her father responded, Sai Sri succumbed two days ago.
The State Human Rights Commission has taken cognisance of the case and has asked the Vijayawada Police Commissioner to file a report before July 20.