87-year-old lady harassed by son, grandson rescued

MYSURU: After neighbours complained to Karnataka State Commission for Women about an 87-year-old woman being harassed by her son and grandson in Prashanthnagar, Bogadi II Stage, chairperson of the commission Nagalakshmi Bai took cognisance of the issue and rescued the hapless woman. Mangalagowramma, 87, was being harassed over some property-related feud. A diabetic, who also suffers from high blood pressure,Nagalakshmi learnt that Mangalagowramma had been denied medicines for the past three months.
While the elderly woman had been enduring mental agony for nearly nine years, things took a turn for the worse when Krupashankar and Sandeep – son and grandson respectively — saw her part with silver jewellery, which she gave to her daughter. Nagalakshmi alleged that the son-grandson duo had even thrown the poor woman out of the house on a few occasions.

“After we were informed by neighbours that she was being harassed, we immediately called the cops and met Mangalagowramma on Wednesday, who told us the horrible ordeal she has been through. Mangalagowramma had property worth Rs 7.5 crore, including two houses in Bengaluru, all of which was handed down to Krupashankar. We have registered cases against both Krupashankar and Sandeep,” Nagalakshmi said.

She added that, after they rescued Mangalagowramma, Krupashankar promised the cops that he would ensure that his mother would be cared for properly. “We have told him that Saraswathipuram police will check on his house every day. Our first priority is to ensure the elderly woman’s safety. Other issues including handing out punishment to the guilty will be dealt with later.,” Nagalakshmi said.

Labour dept slammed

Nagalakshmi, who inspected a garment factory in Belavadi, which employs 1,800 workers – most of whom are women – was surprised to find that not a single grievance had been filed with the Internal Complaints Committee of the company. “We have decided to replace the existing members from management in the internal committee and bring in doctor or advocates, whom the workers will have no fears in approaching,” Nagalakshmi said. While she expressed her satisfaction with the overall working conditions prevailing at the factory, Nagalakshmi informed the management that they needed to provide employees with masks.

The Karnataka State Commission for Women chief was also disappointed not to find a doctor, more specifically a gynaecologist, at a factory that employed more than 1,000 women.

However, Nagalakshmi was disappointed with the failure of the labour department to carry out regular checks . “This problem is not limited to Mysuru district alone. The labour department, is not working anywhere. They should inspect factories regularly, and collect feedback from the employees,” she added.