Woman dies; aged sisters lock police out

15-Jun-2014

The sisters had similarly locked themselves in when their adopted daughter died last month.

KOCHI : Two aged sisters of a 92-year-old woman who had died at her home on Thursday locked the police out when they came to help on Saturday morning. The sisters, who led a reclusive life, had similarly locked themselves in when their adopted daughter Rajarajeswari died last month.

Alli, 92, a resident of Mathai Manjooran Road at Pachalam, died at her home of natural causes on Thursday. Her sisters Santha, 82, and mentally-challenged Baby, 68, live a secluded life and avoid contact with neighbours. The death was discovered by an insurance agent who came to the house to inform them about a matured policy. The agent immediately informed the neighbours, who alerted the police. The two women, however, resisted the attempts of the police to enter the house and remove the body. “We had to break the door open like we did last time to rescue both women,” said an officer.

Police had rescued the three women and put them in a hospital after Rajarajeswari passed away due to illness on May 18. The women, however, came back home soon after. Santha and Baby have been admitted to the General Hospital again by the police.

The body, which had disintegrated a little in the two days since the death, was sent for post-mortem examination.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/woman-dies-aged-sisters-lock-police-out/article6116708.ece

2 mentally ill men f ound living with mot her’s corpse

8-May-2014

A Selvaraj

CHENNAI: Two men, found to be living with the corpse of their mother for about a week, were rescued from their house in Teynampet on Wednesday. Said to be mentally ill, they are now in the custody of Udhavum Karangal, a non-governmental organisation, in Thiruverkadu.

The incident came to light when some residents of Muthiah Street in Teynampet, opposite Kamarajar Arangam, experienced a foul smell emanating from the house where Murugan, 50, and Selvam, 35, lived with their mother Padmavathi, 65, and informed police.

A team from the Teynampet station went there and found the body of Padmavathi, almost fully decomposed and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy. A case was registered under Section 174 (unnatural death) of Criminal Procedure Code.

Residents said Padmavathi, who earned a living as a maid, had been taking care of her sons until her death and since then the two had been starving. The family had been living in a small house on a 1,200sqft plot Padmavathi owned.

Udhavum Karangal founder-director S Vidyakar came to know of the incident and a team led by P N Sundaresan rushed to the spot in an ambulance. “I introduced myself as a resident who knew their mother well. After talking to the two men, I realised Murugan’s condition was not as alarming as that of his brother,” said Sundaresan. A few neighbours confirmed this, he added.

There were some moments of uncertainty when Murugan requested Sundaresan not to take his brother anywhere saying he was like a child. Perumal N, a grocery owner who lived on the same street, said Selvam often threw random objects at anyone trying to enter their house.

The NGO volunteers approached the Teynampet police who said they didn’t have any objection to shifting the two men. Sundaresan and his team managed to convince Murugan and Selvam that they would be safe with them in Thiruverkadu and made arrangements to take them out.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/2-mentally-ill-men-found-living-with-mothers-corpse/articleshow/34798432.cms?