Thaindian News

Noida, April 13 (IANS) As the older of two rescued sisters died of malnutrition Wednesday, a magisterial enquiry was ordered into what caused the siblings to starve and confine themselves to their Noida home for seven months.

Anuradha Behl, 41, died at 8.05 a.m., Sanjay Mahajan, the doctor who attended to her at Kailash Hospital in Noida, told IANS. Malnutrition led to multiple organ failure, which ultimately led to cardiac arrest, he said.

After Anuradha was rushed to the hospital along with sister Sonali, 38, she was given the best treatment in the ICU of the hospital but could not be revived from the unconscious state in which she was brought in, he said.

“A magistrate enquiry has been set up. We will try to find out what were the circumstances that led the two sisters to confine themselves in their own house,” city magistrate Sanjay Chowhan told IANS.

“We will submit the report in 45 days,” he said. The enquiry was set up by the district magistrate.

The two were rescued by Noida police Tuesday. They had shut themselves up in their house No.326 in the posh Sector-29 for seven months. They had been depressed after the death of their father Colonel (retired) O.P. Behl, police said.

“Facing acute depression, my sisters could not come out of the home despite full support from me. I had gifted the parental properties, including fixed deposits, to them,” their brother Vipin Behl told IANS Wednesday.

Both were found in a state of acute starvation. The elder sister suffered multiple organ weakness due to insufficient vitamin intake, said the doctor, adding that the condition of thr younger sister was stable Wednesday.

The two sisters had a great academic record and had doctorate degrees, police said.

“They confined themselves to their own premises. There is no section in the Indian Penal Code under which police can take any action in this case,” city superintendent of police Anant Dev told IANS.

“We have sent the body for post-mortem to the Noida City Hospital,” he added.

When social activist Usha Thakur and residents welfare officials failed to rescue them, they contacted senior police and civil officials, including the district magistrate and the city magistrate, who asked the police to rescue the sisters.

“I sent a police officer to rescue the sisters. On failing to get them to open the door after several knocks, the officer was authorised to use force. He called the carpenter to break the gate. Then the sisters were brought out and put under treatment. The elder sister was unconscious while the younger one was stable and could speak a little,” said Inspector Vijay Prakash.

According to Sandeep Vohra, a psychiatrist, it could be a case of extreme emotional withdrawal.

“It could be extreme depression or depression underlined by some sort of psychotic element in it. In a case like this, both the daughters must have been emotionally dependent on their father and he may have been the one taking all the decisions for them,” said Vohra.

According to him, this can also happen to people who are deeply introverted.

–Indo-Asian New Service
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