95-Year-Old Survives On Tap Water After Son Locks Her In Bathroom For 2 Weeks

A 95-year-old woman in India, who was locked in a bathroom for two weeks by her son, was rescued Sunday.

The incident came to light when a neighbor heard her feeble cries for help and immediately alerted the local authorities, who rushed to the scene and rescued the nonagenarian. The incident took place in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

An investigation revealed the woman, identified as Radha, was forcibly locked up in the bathroom by her unidentified son. The woman wasn’t provided with food, and she survived two weeks in the bathroom by drinking running water from the tap, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Authorities said when they opened the bathroom door, they found the woman lying on the floor in an unhygienic condition.

Radha, who is a mother of four, was living off her late husband’s pension, which was swindled by the son. She is currently in the care of a nonprofit, where she is being provided with food and treatment.

"The woman is immobile, who is suffering from age-related ailments, including memory loss," said Dr. B Ramesh Kumar, founder of the nonprofit, according to DT Next.

The woman has refused to file a police complaint against her son.

"A police team inquired her 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," Kumar added.

In yet another case of elder abuse in the country, a couple in the southern state of Telangana was arrested and charged with culpable homicide for starving the husband’s parents to death last week. The accused made the parents stay in a makeshift structure and did not provide them with food or water, resulting in them starving to death. After their death, the accused lied to the neighbors that they died of COVID-19 and hastily buried the bodies in a pit. The neighbors got skeptical and alerted the authorities, who exhumed the body and sent it for an autopsy, which confirmed they died of dehydration due to starvation. The accused couple was taken into custody.