Benson, an HIV+ patient from Kerala who had attracted media coverage and national attention after he and his late sister Bency faced social stigma and were refused entry into schools, passed away in Kollam district of Kerala. He was 26.
Bency and Benson, children of parents who were HIV+ patients, had faced much social stigma two decades ago when their grandparents tried to get them admitted to schools. The schools denied them admission after parents of other children threatened to pull their wards out if Bency and Benson were admitted.
According to media reports, Benson, son of C.K. Chandy who died in 1997, and Princy who died in 2000, allegedly killed himself by hanging at a relative's place. After the death of their parents, their grandparents used to take care of the siblings. Benson used to be under the care of one of his relatives after their grandparents passed away.
Bency had died in 2010 when she was 15, after she contracted measles.
According to Malayala Manorama, he killed himself over a failed relationship. Police have ruled out foul play in the death.
The stigma the siblings faced and the struggle of their grandparents to get them education—their grandfather Geevarghese undertook a fast in 2003 to raise the issue with the state government—brought to fore the issues faced by people forced to live with AIDS. The constant public AIDS awareness progammes, with celebrities, including former Sushma Swaraj, hugging them in public, had helped in reducing the stigma to a certain extent. The siblings were also granted admission to one of the schools that refused to admit them.
