BHOPAL: A shocking incident has been reported from Vidisha district in central Madhya Pradesh, where a retired school teacher kept the decomposing body of her 42-year-old son at home for several days, believing that heavenly blessings would bring him back to life.
The incident took place in the Kranti Chowk locality and came to light on Sunday after milkman Sachin Lodhi visited the house of Mariyam Verghese to deliver milk and noticed a foul smell emanating from the premises.
“There was an intolerable stench coming out of the house and I also saw blood near the doors, after which I asked what happened aunty, is everything well. She told me that her son Shinu was dead, everyone killed him. I subsequently informed the local police,” Lodhi said.
He further added, “While aunty (Mariyam Verghese) is mentally unwell, her son Shinu was living with her for the last one year or more, as he often remained ill,” Lodhi added.
Neighbours said they had noticed a strong odour for several days but assumed it was related to the family’s pet dogs.
One neighbour, Dinesh Kumar Sahu, said, “Intolerable stench was emanating from her house for the last three-four days. As she has two pet dogs, we thought that one of the dogs might have died. As she is mentally disturbed and doesn’t socialise with neighbours, we didn’t try to find out what had actually happened inside the house. It was only after the police came on Sunday and took the body away that we came to know that Shinu had died. While Shinu, who worked in Mumbai, was living with her for around a year, her other son lives in UAE.”
A police officer who led the team to the house after being alerted by the milkman said the woman appeared mentally disturbed.
Visuals from the scene showed a sanitation worker spraying disinfectant on Shinu’s deteriorating body, with a book placed on his chest.
Informed sources claimed that Mariyam Verghese, out of the belief that heavenly intervention would restore life, had kept a holy book on the body’s chest.
Vidisha district police superintendent Rohit Kashwani said, “The body has been sent for autopsy and histopathological analysis. Based on the findings only, will we be able to establish how old the body is and what caused the middle-aged man's death.”
