Saraswathi sat by Samuel’s side at their home, wiping the body constantly to ensure it didn’t attract ants
CHENNAI: She refused to seek help when her seven-year-old son was starving. Then, for three days after little Samuel died of hunger, his mother Saraswathi sat by his side at their home in Thirunindravur near Chennai’s Avadi neighbourhood, wiping the body constantly to ensure it didn’t attract ants.
The death came to light on Monday morning – after a neighbour alerted police about a stench emanating from Saraswathi’s house. Inspector Gunasekaran from Thirunindravur police station rushed there with his team to discover a decomposed body, a grieving mother and a heartwrenching story.
“She opened the door, let us in and calmly led us to where her son’s body lay. She told us she had been sitting by his side. We sent the body of seven-year-old Samuel for post-mortem, which revealed that he had died of starvation three days ago,” the inspector said.
Police quoting Saraswathi’s family members and relatives as saying that she was mentally unstable and lived a reclusive life with her son since separating from her husband Jose seven years ago.
Saraswathi occupies the second floor of a building in Thirunindravur on CTH Road. Although her relatives live downstairs, she almost never contacted them, the police said. A few cousins and her father-in-law, who live in the neighbourhood, occasionally visited the house.
Four months ago, the police said, Saraswathi and Samuel had been found unconscious by relatives, who then spent about ?1.5 lakh on their treatment. Over the past couple of weeks, Saraswathi was confined indoors with her son, stepping out only occasionally.
“Saraswathi once practised homeopathy, but could not earn enough to take care of her son. The lockdown made things worse for them,” a police officer said. “She had also fought a long legal battle for property with her Bengaluru-based brother.”
The police have decided to send Saraswathi for professional counselling.
