Aged woman abandoned by sons, rescued after neighbour’s alert

Chennai: Sources said that T Gnanajothi (72), a resident of Cauvery Nagar in Thanjavur, has been living alone in her house for the past 10 years after the demise of her husband Thirugnanam, a retired employee of Doordarshan. Gnanajothi’s elder son Shanmugasundaram is serving as a police inspector in Chennai while the younger son Venkatesan is working in Doordarshan.

There was a dispute over sharing the property between the siblings due to which both abandoned their mother in the house and reportedly locked it. During her isolation, Gnanajothi developed mental disorder.

According to neighbours, her sons used to visit her occasionally and stay outside the house. During such visits they allegedly used to throw eatables at her. Neighbours, who advised to take their mother with them, were abused by the brothers.

Since she was not fed properly, the condition of elderly woman deteriorated and recently, she had reportedly started consuming sand. After noticing this, Jayachandran, a neighbour and social activist, clicked photos of the woman’s plight and sent it to Thanjavur Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver seeking his intervention to rescue the woman.

Following instructions from the Collector, a team of Social Welfare Department officials, led by the officer in-charge Vimala along, with police reached the house on Friday and rescued Gnanajothi.

As she was very weak, officials admitted her to the Thanjavur Medical College hospital.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Ponraj Oliver ordered legal action against her two sons.