Son Allegedly Starves 90-Year-Old Father, 80-Year-Old Mother To Death, Arrested

An elderly Indian couple was allegedly starved to death by their son and daughter-in-law.

The shocking incident came to light on Monday, June 7, in the Suryapet district of Telangana state.

According to the police, 90-year-old Nallu Ramachandra Reddy and his 80-year-old wife, Anasuyamma, died on May 27, and their final rites were performed by their son on the same day at Thummagudem village in Mothe Mandal.

Munagala Circle inspector Anjaneyulu said the police began investigating the incident after villagers suspected foul play in the death of the aged couple.

Local residents complained that the couple’s son, Nageshwar Reddy, was not taking care of his elderly parents and had denied them food and drinking water, which eventually led to their deaths.

Based on the complaints, local police booked a case of suspicious death and began investigating the incident.

Following a preliminary investigation, officers learned that the accused had allegedly forced his parents to live in a makeshift tarpaulin tent that was built on the premises of their house.

On May 1, the police exhumed the bodies of the deceased couple and sent them to a medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The autopsy results revealed that the couple was denied food and water which led to dehydration and finally their death.

"After receiving the post-mortem report, we booked a case and arrested the accused couple," the police official said.

According to the police, the accused and his wife, Lakshmi, were arrested and booked under Section 304 culpable homicide not amounting to murder of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The accused duo was produced before a magistrate, who remanded them to fifteen days in judicial custody.

The exact motive behind the heinous crime is unclear at this time. Police officials said that the case is being investigated.

In a similar incident that was reported on March 27, from the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, India, a newborn baby allegedly died of starvation after the mother passed out for hours after consuming an excessive amount of alcohol.

According to neighbors, the mother and infant were seen lying on the road. They alerted the police after finding the baby unresponsive and the mother passed out. The child was pronounced dead at the scene and the mother was arrested.