Son arrested for neglecting aged mother

The first case after the Senior Citizens Act came into force last year, a 58-year-old man was taken into custody for neglecting his aged mother and cases have been registered against his five siblings at Kottiyam near here, police said. The action against the siblings, three of them women, was taken under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, based on instructions from the District Probation Officer yesterday, police said.

According to police and lawyers, this is the first case registered under the act in Kerala and perhaps the first in the country as well.

The plight of 84-year-old Lakshmikutty was brought to the notice of the authorities by social workers in the area, who found the partially-paralysed woman abandoned in her house.

They first shifted her to a private hospital three weeks ago. Lakshmikutty's daughter-in-law left the hospital after attending on the woman for three days leaving her to the mercy of charity workers.

As her health improved slightly, the district authorities and social workers moved her to a charity home at Mayyanad near here, and later shifted to a church-run poor home at Thankassery in the town.

After this, the District Probation Officer, who is the authority to implement the rules concerning the protection of the aged, asked the police to take action against the children.

Lakshmikutyy's eldest son Ramanan was arrested by a Sub-Inspector at Kottiyam yesterday. He was later released after recording the arrest.