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A weak, ill, 75-year-old woman was found lying on a heap of rotting garbage in Erode, Tamil Nadu, on Sunday morning. She told her rescuers she had been thrown there by her daughter and grandsons who wanted to get rid of her.

A local couple, Periaswamy and Mohanasundari, found the semi-paralyzed Chinnammal Palaniappan. She told them she had been living with the family of the youngest of her three daughters, who would quarrel incessantly over who should take care of their infirm mother. On Saturday night, Sarasa, the daughter, allegedly told her two sons to take their grandmother to a spot from where she could never return. The boys bundled Chinnammal into an autorickshaw and threw her on the dump.

“She never complained about her family’s behaviour, only rued the fact that she couldn’t move without help,” Mohanasundari said. The couple took Chinnammal to the office of Jayabharath, a social organization, who on Wednesday informed the government.

Social Welfare Minister Dr Poongothai expressed outrage. “I have asked the collector to take adequate care of the old lady, and take legal action against the children,” she said. But the family hasn’t been traced. “The lady can’t tell us the address,” KM Murgesan of Jayabharath said.                  gc_s@yahoo.com