The Thekkumbhagam police in Kollam district of Kerala have arrested a woman on multiple charges, including attempt to murder and physically assaulting Leelamma, her 80-year-old mother-in-law.
Manju Thomas, a schoolteacher, was taken into custody following the complaint of residents.
According to reports, Manju had been torturing the elderly woman for a while. Before the arrest, a very disturbing video had emerged in which Manju is seen abusing and pushing her mother-in-law from a chair in the presence of children.
Reportedly, the footage was recorded a few months ago by Leelamma’s son. Neighbours say that the woman was brutally beaten by her daughter-in-law last month also. A couple of times, Leelamma, who is already suffering from age-related ailments, was subjected to brutal beating. Though she was hospitalised, she was not willing to file a formal complaint against her only son’s wife,” said a neighbour.
According to ward member G. Pradeep Kumar, the torture continued despite official interventions.
“Four months ago Leelamma was hospitalised after she was assaulted by Manju. We had shifted her to another house from the hospital, but later she went back home. Yesterday she was assaulted and dragged outside the compound after which Manju locked the gate. Leelamma owns the house and we had to open the gate with the help of police,” he said.
According to the police, though there were compliants earlier, they were not aware about the nature of the abuse.
“The video was leaked by her son’s friends and after it surfaced on social media we realised it wasn’t just verbal dispute. Leelamma had never complained of physical abuse before,” they said.
Manju has been booked under non-bailable offences, including Section 24 of Senior Citizen Act. She will be produced before the court on Friday.
