Mumbai: Man brutally assaults hearing and speech impaired elderly mother for years, arrested

According to police, Inasheen Mascarenhas, a retired sweeper in the Indian Railways, was being abused by her alcoholic son, Jason, for the last five years. Doctors who are currently treating Mascarenhas have told police that the frequent assaults have triggered mental health problems for the elderly woman. Police found Mascarenhas in an unconscious state at Jehangir Bagh on Veer Savarkar Road in Mahim on June 3 after receiving a tip-off from a concerned citizen.

Mascarenhas had injuries on her face and skull and upon further investigation, police found out that she was being frequently assaulted by her son.

“Mascarenhas has been hearing and speech impaired since birth. Her son used to beat her up but we never realised she was being abused as she does not have a voice. This time, we figured it out because in a bid to escape the assault, she opened the door and fell on the ground, after which she fell unconscious,” said a neighbour who did not want to be named.

The neighbours detained Jason after seeing Mascarenhas’ condition. While the victim was rushed to Bhabha Hospital, the police later detained Jason.
Hospital authorities told police that Mascarenhas had been brought to the hospital a few days ago by her son, who had claimed that she got injured after falling down in her house.

Mascarenhas’ husband was also hearing and speech impaired, and he used to work with the Railways, said police. After her husband’s death, she was offered a job in the Railways on compassionate grounds as a sweeper.

“She retired five years ago. We have been told that she got around Rs 13 lakh for her service (post-retirement). She also gets a pension of Rs 15,000-20,000 every month. But both her sons are addicted to alcohol… her younger son is often missing and elder son (Jason) used to live with her,” said a police officer.

Jason was arrested on June 4, after which he was remanded in police custody. Interrogation revealed that Jason often assaulted his mother between the 1st and 10th of every month and took away her pension. On June 3, he had beaten up his mother with a stick so badly that the stick broke, but he kept assaulting her with the broken stick, said police.

“We are planning to admit her in a rescue centre for women or at an NGO which takes good care of elderly citizens,” said Senior Inspector Pravin Kadam of Mahim police station.