The police in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday said that a 74-year-old man was rescued after his brother presumed him to be dead and kept him in a freezer, reported the Hindustan Times. A case has been registered for the negligent act and an investigation is underway.
The man, Balasubramanyam Kumar, was bedridden due to age-related diseases for the last couple of months. He was living with his 70-year old younger brother Saravanan and his sister’s daughter Geetha at Kandhampatti village in Salem district, according to The New Indian Express.
On Monday, Kumar did not respond to several attempts made by Saravanan to wake him up, according to officials at the Suramangalam police station. Saravanan presumed his brother to be dead and asked a funeral service company to provide a freezer box to keep Kumar’s body. Geetha, who was also ill, was admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore at the time.
However, persons from the company who came to collect the freezer box on Tuesday found Kumar’s hand moving and raised an alarm. The relatives also noticed movement from the box where Kumar was kept overnight. Saravanan, however, claimed that the movement was because of “fits” that Kumar had and also because the soul was trying to leave the body.
The police moved Kumar to a hospital, where the 74-year-old is said to be recuperating. Although the police have registered a case under Sections 336 (endangering personal safety of others) and 287 (conduct endangering human life) of the Indian Penal Code, they have not arrested Saravanan yet.
A police official claimed that Saravanan is believed to be mentally ill and did not do it deliberately.
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