Ill-health, old age or starvation likely cause of death

Bengaluru, May 25 (DHNS): An elderly co­uple, who were leading a secluded life, were found dead at their residence in 2nd ‘A’ cross in Sultanpalya in Hebbal on Tuesday afternoon.

The deceased are Venkoba Rao, 80, a retired constable with City Armed Reserve (CAR) police and his wife Kalavathi Bai, 75. They did not have children. Bai’s body was completely decomposed and Rao’s body was partially decomposed, so it is suspected that Bai might have died three days ago and Rao might have died on Monday, police said.

The incident came to light when the neighbours complained of foul smell coming from the house. They informed the police, who visited the house and found it locked from inside. They broke open the door and found the couple lying dead. The bodies were shifted to Dr Ambedkar Medical College for post mortem, police said.

A senior police officer said, “There is no suspicion of foul play, as there were no injuries on the body. The deaths may be due to ill-health or old age. Or, they may have starved to death. Even the family members claimed that they were not in cordial terms with anyone and did not have visitors. The Hebbal police have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC and investigation is on,” the officer said.

Mukund Rao, a relative of Bai, told Deccan Herald: “Rao had retired from CAR around 20 years ago. They were staying in their own house which had two portions. They had occupied one portion, while the other was lying vacant, as no tenants stayed for long due to the couple’s ill-temper. No neighbours or relatives would visit them, as they would fight with everyone for petty reasons. They used to get food parcelled from a couple of hotels located near their house and did not even have a maid coming to clean their house. We do not know anything about Rao’s relatives. Bai had four sisters, of which two had died,” he added.

A neighbour who did not want to be named said, “Most of them would avoid conversing with them as they would pick a fight. We tried helping them several times, but in vain. The house was a complete mess filled with empty water bottles, coconut shells and food packets. It was almost like a dumping yard. It seems like the house was not cleaned for a couple of years.”

Another relative, who stayed a couple of streets away, said, “I never visited them as they did not like anyone going to their house. It seems like they were mentally disturbed as they did not have children. I got to know about the death after the police informed us.”