- Police and NGO team shocked to find elderly woman living among garbage, worm-infested wounds
Bhopal: In a heart-wrenching incident from Bhopal’s Piplani area, police and social workers rescued 67-year-old Radha Bai Saini, who had been held captive by her daughter Meenakshi Saini for nearly two and a half years in deplorable conditions. The rescue took place on November 6 after social worker Anil Shewani, hearing cries from the house opposite a temple, alerted the police and the Laxmi Narayan Club NGO.
When the team arrived, Meenakshi refused to open the door despite Radha Bai’s desperate screams for help. After several minutes of struggle, the rescue team finally forced the door open—revealing a nightmarish scene. The house was filled with garbage, the air thick with stench, and the elderly woman lay on a plastic sheet amid filth. Her legs were severely swollen and infected with maggots. Too weak to stand, she pleaded repeatedly, “Save me, police.”
Daughter was mentally unstable
Neighbors claimed Meenakshi had been mentally unstable since her father’s death and had isolated her mother. Some suspected she practiced witchcraft, as strange symbols marked the walls and she often roamed at night. Psychologist Dr. Satyakant Trivedi suggested that Meenakshi’s behavior showed signs of psychosis, a severe mental disorder.
Radha Bai, now under treatment at Hamidia Hospital, recounted through tears, “She used to beat me with shoes and wouldn’t give me food.” The shocking case has raised serious concerns about mental health awareness and elderly care within families.
