THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Parkinson’s and dementia-stricken mother and her selfless daughter Sangeetha, whose miserable existence was published by Expresso on Tuesday, were found dead in their one-room shack at Irinjayam, near Nedumangad, on Wednesday. The mother, Baby, was lying on the cot. Right above, hanging from the roof, was the body of her daughter.
Baby was 62 and Sangeetha 29.
A brief suicide note written by Sangeetha and Rs 17,000 in cash were recovered by the police. In the note, Sangeetha said that her mother had died and that she had no more reason to live. She wanted the money to be given to her cousin Rajesh, an ill-stricken youth who had been of help to the mother and daughter.
The bodies have been shifted to the Nedumangad Taluk Hospital. The post-mortem will be conducted on Thursday after the bodies are transferred to the Medical College here. The bodies were found in the afternoon when a group of neighbours pushed open the door. They decided to break in after it was noted that there was no activity in the house the entire morning.
Social activist T Parvathy was one of the first persons to see the bodies. She was there to hand over a bundle of clean clothes she had collected from various sources and a box of adult diapers offered by Devi Pharma.
The response to the Expresso story, ‘Can Society Help Her?’, was huge and heart-warming. In just one-and-a-half days, Parvathy had collected nearly
Rs 50,000 from 15 readers.
People were only eager to help. Many, including some Technopark firms, offered Sangeetha jobs. Sai Gramam, too, had promised help. Parvathy had handed over Rs17,000 to Sangeetha on Tuesday, the day the Expresso story appeared.
An account was also opened in Sangeetha’s name at the State Bank of Travancore at Nedumangad. Her cousin Rajesh was made the nominee. The account, which had Rs 18,200, has been frozen. This amount too, by common consent, will now go to Rajesh. All the cheques have been returned to the donors.
Baby had been suffering from degenerative diseases for the last eight years. Her daughter Sangeetha, a PGDCA holder, had sacrificed her future to be with her mother, who required round-the-clock care and support. When Expresso met Sangeetha, she had looked depressed. But she came across as bold and brave.
Parvathy, who met the mother and daughter on Tuesday to hand over Rs 17,000, said Baby had breathing difficulties.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com