Son Locks 95-Year-Old Mother Inside Toilet For Weeks Without Food, Rescued

A 95-year-old woman was found locked inside a bathroom reportedly for more than 10 days without food.

Radha was forced to live inside a cramped toilet in Dalmia Housing Board in Omalur of Coimbatore, India.

She was rescued on Sunday, May 6, by officials of the social welfare department along with members of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) after residents in the area made repeated complaints about the elderly woman crying for help.

The residents heard her wailing inside the toilet and approached her son who reportedly shooed them away and refused to take care of his mother.

The residents then alerted the district administration authorities about the brutality.

"She had managed to survive on mere tea and water given by her son and his family members. The woman is immobile, who is suffering from age-related ailments, including memory loss," said Dr. B. Ramesh Kumar, founder of Bodhimaram, an NGO for old-aged people in Salem.

When the authorities found the elderly woman, she was in a miserable condition, NDTV reported.

The mother of four was transferred to an old age home, where she was provided food and is currently undergoing treatment.

The woman had three sons and a daughter. She began living with her youngest son after two of her sons passed away. She was surviving off the pension of her late husband, police said.

Her youngest son swindled her pension money and left her for dead inside the reeking toilet, police said.

Despite undergoing such heinous treatment, the mother refused to file a complaint against her son, authorities added.

"A police team from Suramangalam station inquired her in the morning to proceed with criminal action against her son for the torture meted out to her. However, the woman asked not to initiate any complaint as she still loves her family members," Dr. Kumar said.

In a similar incident, a 90-year-old man and his 80-year-old wife were allegedly starved to death by their son and daughter-in-law.

The couple died on May 27 and were buried on the same day by their son at Thummagudem village in the Suryapet district of Telangana state in India.

On May 1, their bodies were exhumed and sent for an autopsy after villagers suspected foul play in the death.

The autopsy results revealed that the couple was denied food and water which led to dehydration and finally their death. The accused duo was arrested and booked under Section 304 culpable homicide not amounting to murder of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).