The husband died on Monday morning, apparently due to starvation and fatigue that set in after his wife’s death. (Representational image)
A 55-year-old woman died of a suspected heart attack and lay undiscovered for 10 days at her home in Karwar town, in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, because her paralysed husband could not call for help. The husband died on Monday morning, apparently due to starvation and fatigue that set in after his wife’s death.
The bodies of the couple, Girija Kulkar and Anand Kulkar (60), were found on Sunday by Girija’s brother, Subramanya Madivala. A shopkeeper from Honnavar town of the district, Madivala went to Kulkar’s house after he could not get in touch with his sister for over a week.
“We would talk to each other every week. She would call me if there was anything that she needed. For over four years, she was looking after my brother-in-law on her own, after he was paralysed following a fall,’’ said Madivala.
“I did not get a call from her for over a week… I tried her number several times but there was no response. Finally, I decided to check on her on Sunday,’’ he said.
When he arrived at his sister’s house, he found the doors locked from inside. When he finally gained access, he found Girija lying dead in a chair while Anand was on the bed, in a weakened condition. “My sister was dead but my brother-in-law was still breathing. We rushed him to the government hospital… Today, we received word that he had died as well,’’ said Madivala.
“Since all the doors were locked from inside, and there were indications that they had eaten their dinner, we think that she may have died of a heart attack that occurred at night around 10 days ago,’’ he said.
The couple did not have any children.
The police have registered a case of unnatural death in Girija’s case. “We are yet to receive the post mortem report on the cause of death,’’ said a police officer.