The death of an elderly beggar in Antharsanthe of Mysuru district’s H.D. Kote taluk last Friday has raised questions over access to food for the aged homeless and destitute.
An unidentified man, reportedly aged around 75 to 80, was dependent on alms and food from the roadside bakeries, and hotels in Antharsanthe for the last couple of years.
When he was found dead by the roadside in the midst of the lockdown with people staying indoors and the establishments in the village remaining closed, social activists like Manohar Elavarthi have taken to social media, retweeting a post by Naavu Naavu Bharateeyaru, in a bid to focus on the starvation of homeless people.
The local police, however, said the deceased could have died due to age-related ailments. “He was almost 80 years old. As soon as we learnt about his death, we registered a case and conducted a post-mortem. The report is awaited,” said a police official from Beechanahalli police station under whose jurisdiction Antharsanthe falls.
According to preliminary inquiries by the police, the deceased hailed from Kerala, but had been leading a homeless life in Antharsanthe. His wife had predeceased him and the whereabouts of his only son were not known. The police did not keep the body in view of health concerns over COVID-19 and performed the last rites.
The local panchayat leaders were also present, the police said. “The body was buried in a Muslim graveyard as the local community leaders came forward to offer land,” said the police official.