Mom Dies After Son Locks Her At Home Without Food For 3 Weeks

KEY POINTS

A woman was locked inside the house for 20 days without food by her son
Police recovered the woman, but she died before being taken to a hospital
Authorities are now looking for the woman's son

A 63-year-old woman in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh died after her son locked her at home without food for nearly three weeks.

Authorities rescued the woman, identified as Leela Devi, from her home in Pilibhit district's Durga Prasad locality Friday, after a neighbor named Manish Kumar suspected she had been unwell while locked inside the residence without food for about 20 days, newspaper The Times of India reported, citing police.

Manish's children heard Devi begging for food from inside her home a few days prior her discovery, according to the outlet. He described the elderly woman as being "in a pitiful condition and was barely able to move."

Devi, who was bedridden and had psoriasis, claimed that her 27-year-old son, Pankaj Kumar, locked her inside the house and had not returned for more than 15 days.

Manish initially offered Devi food and water, but he opted to contact authorities Friday after the concerned neighbor could not detect any movement from inside the house the day before.

Police later broke the door to Devi's residence and found her lying unconscious, according to Bisalpur station house officer Naresh Tyagi.

Authorities took the elderly woman to a community health center, where she was given initial treatment. Doctors then advised police to take her to a higher facility in the city of Pilibhit.

"We provided her with the best care, but she [did not] survive," Tyagi, whose station had jurisdiction of the case, said.

Locals later told police Pankaj often locked Devi inside the house without food. Additionally, neighbors allegedly used to give the elderly woman food through a window.

Authorities are now waiting for an autopsy report. No evidence pointing to starvation has been found.

Police have been unable to contact Pankaj and are still trying to trace him.

No complaint was registered against Pankaj over the incident, but Tyagi claimed Devi's death was "definitely because of her son's negligence."

Police cremated Devi's body on Sunday.

"I wish her son had sent her to an old age home instead of locking her inside the house alone," Manish said.

The relationship between Manish and Pankaj was unclear.