A man in Telangana kept his grandfather's dead body in a fridge at their house in Warangal district, as he allegedly did not have money to perform his last rites. The incident came into the light on Thursday in Parkala of Warangal district as neighbours complained to the police about a foul smell emanating from a house. The deceased, identified as Balaiah, aged between 92 and 95, had retired as a headmaster and was drawing a pension and staying with his grandson Nikhil (23).
Police said that other family members reside in the state’s Kamareddy district. The deceased and his grandson were living in a rented house and were meeting their expenses from Balaiah's pension.
A senior police official told PTI that the body was found stuffed in the refrigerator and according to Nikhil, the old man died of ill health three days ago. "The man told police that his grandfather was bedridden and died of ill health recently. After the death, he had initially wrapped the body with a bedsheet and later kept the body in the fridge. He told police he did this as he was unable to perform the last rites, as he did not have money," the official said.
Police are also investigating if the 23-year-old man hid his grandfather's body to ensure that his pension did not stop, the official said.
Based on preliminary investigation, the official said that there were no external injuries on the elderly man's body and he is suspected to have died around six days ago. However, they were also verifying if he was given some poisonous substance. As of now, a case of suspicious death has been registered, police added. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shivaramaiah said that they have registered a case of death under suspicious circumstances and further investigation is underway. The body has been sent for an autopsy.
With PTI and IANS inputs