Son locks parents in room in Delhi; mother dies, father critical

When the relatives tried to enter the home on Sunday, the son allegedly refused to open the door despite responding to their calls.

A 65-year-old woman was found dead in a decomposed state and her 70-year-old husband, a retired music teacher at a school, was lying critically ill beside her in their Jamia Nagar flat late Sunday night, after police broke into the locked home following frantic calls from relatives who had been unable to reach the couple for days.

During questioning, police said the son gave them inconsistent responses. (Representational Photo/HT)

Their 50-year-old son, described by police as “mentally challenged” and with a history of psychiatric illness, was found sitting outside the bedroom and later taken to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).

According to police, the incident came to light when a PCR call was received around 11.30pm on Sunday, from the woman’s brother and sister-in-law, who said they had been alerted by the couple’s daughter in Hong Kong after she failed to contact her parents for nearly a week.

When these relatives tried to enter the home on Sunday, the son allegedly refused to open the door despite responding to their calls.

“Seeing the sensitivity of the case, the SHO and ACP rushed to the spot where the family members were present. The door was found locked from inside. We broke open the door to get inside. In one of the bedrooms, we found a dead body on the bed and her husband was found lying to her. He was in a critical and fragile condition. The staff immediately rushed him to AIIMS as he needed medical care. Their son was sitting outside the bedroom,” said Hemant Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (southeast).

According to police, the couple lived in Queen Apartments in southeast Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. The man, a retired music teacher at a school nearby, remains hospitalised in fragile condition, said the DCP.

His wife’s body was sent for autopsy, with police noting that it bore no external injuries but was “highly decomposed,” indicating that she may have died several days earlier.

Doctors told police that the death appeared to be natural, though the exact cause will be determined after post-mortem. “However, the exact cause of death can only be revealed after the post mortem examination,” said an officer privy to the investigation in the case, who asked not to be identified.

During questioning, police said the son gave them inconsistent responses. “He has a history of psychiatric illness. He first said his mother and father were sleeping. He later admitted that he confined himself with his parents inside the home for four to five days without food. We suspect he did not feed them either,” said a senior officer.

Investigators added that the daughter had made repeated calls to her father and brother over four days, but neither answered. Alarmed, she contacted her maternal uncle, who lives in the same neighbourhood, prompting the family to approach the police.

“The son was taken to IHBAS by our staff as none of his relatives came forward to accompany him. He was later referred to GTB Hospital. The district crime team inspected the flat, and criminal proceedings have been initiated,” DCP Tiwari said.

Police have not yet registered an FIR, pending the autopsy report.