"The lady had been staying alone in the flat," Subhash Khanvilkar, senior police inspector of Oshiwara police station, said.
"She pleaded her son (Rituraj) in April 2017 to put her at a home for the care of elderly as it was very depressing to stay alone at home. However, we have come to know that Rituraj did not come back or spoke to his mother over the telephone in the last one year." police told Sputnik.
When Rituraj arrived home a few days ago, he found that the house was locked form inside. After getting no response to the doorbell, he took the help of a local key maker and opened the door only to be greeted by the skeletal remains of his mother. According to the police, the clothes were intact but the flesh had completely decayed. Final post mortem report is awaited.
A study conducted by an NGO — Agewell Foundation- found that 47.49 % of senior citizens which it surveyed (sample size 15000) suffered from loneliness.
Meanwhile, such situation arising out of the gap in communication among family members have created space for a novel industry. A number of start-ups have mushroomed in big cities that cater to lonely and elderly clients looking for someone to communicate with. Employees of such startups visit the lonely souls at certain intervals and spend time with them for which they charge anything up to $ 300 per visit.
