The decomposed body of a 70-year-old woman was recovered from her central Kolkata residence on Sunday after neighbours complained that the son was living with his mother's dead body for days without taking any steps to perform her last rites, police said.
The police broke into the house at Sash Bhusan Dey Street in Bowbazar and recovered the corpse of the septuagenarian woman on Sunday afternoon after the neighbours complained of foul smell coming from the house since the last few days.
"The body of Tapati Das was recovered from her house in a decomposed state. It has been sent for autopsy to identify the time and reason of death," an officer from Muchipara police station said.
Police said the son was allegedly living with the dead body and stopped the neighbours from getting in the house when they wanted to check onto his mother's health.
He has been detained and sent to a hospital for treatment.
"The son Abhishek Das seems to be mentally unstable. He was living with his mother's dead body and refused to let anybody in. He has been taken to NRS Hospital for treatment," the officer added.
The incident brought back the grim memory of central Kolkata's Rabinson Street, where a middle-aged man had lived for months with the skeletons of his sister and two pet dogs, while his father's charred body was found inside a bathroom.
