Bangalore woman lay dead for four months in her sprawling bungalow

Mangalore Today/NDTV

Bangalore, Aug 21: A 53-year-old woman lay dead in her sprawling bungalow in the heart of Bangalore for over four months, her body decomposed and half reduced to bones as not even close relatives visited her.

The police say Sheela Reddy may have starved to death in her two-storey home at least four or five months ago, a shocking irony in the Indiranagar colony, which is counted among the affluent parts of the IT-city.

 

Neighbours say Ms Reddy, a single woman, was upset that her family hadn’t visited her for long. Some claimed she had a "medical condition" and was often seen walking around her house, mumbling to herself or screaming at people.

Such was her isolation, that her remains were found only when her brother Shankar Reddy came calling on Monday, after six months, and spotted her body through a window.

The police found no food in the house.

"We got to know of the death from the papers," said former Director General of Police MD Singh, who lives right opposite Ms Reddy’s bungalow.

"If it is a single woman, there is not much we can do by way of interaction," said Mr Singh, when asked whether neighbours tried to help her.

A report quoted neighbours as saying they had complained of an overpowering stench from the house a few months ago, but the police dismissed it saying it could be a dead dog.

Neighbours said Ms Reddy never had visitors barring some relatives who came to give her food. Her parents reportedly owned large tracts of land in the area years ago.