Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Leela Gopalan.
Died: June 6, 2022.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Vatakara, Kerala, India.
Disability: Cancer.
Details:
Leela’s husband strangled her and then hanged himself.
Case Status:
Mithal Gopalan (Husband), deceased.
Name: Hena.
Died: May 26, 2022.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Strangulation, head injury.
Location: Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.
Details:
Hena had recently married, and her husband, a traditional healer, was angry that her family was not providing him more dowry payments. During an argument, he became violent and choked her, slamming her head against a wall and killing her. Investigators discovered that her husband had been harassing her family for money because she had been mentally ill from childhood and he believed he deserved a higher dowry.
Demanding dowries for marriage is illegal in India, and doing so is often associated with domestic abuse, suicide, and sometimes, as in this case, murder.
Case Status:
Appukuttan (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder.
Sources:
Man arrested in suspected dowry killing in Kerala
Kollam woman’s death a case of murder, husband nabbed
Death of newly-wed in Cherthala; police says its murder, dowry abuse, husband arrested
Hena was not released, and neighbors only learned of the death shortly after the funeral
Name: Pankaj.
Died: May 23, 2022.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Pankaj’s brother allegedly cut his throat and tried to burn his body. Police say he confessed to the crime during interrogation.
Case Status:
Ashok (Brother), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Sources:
Man Kills Mentally Challenged Brother In Uttar Pradesh; Arrested: Police
Name: Kalayikkal Ranjini.
Died: May 12, 2022.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Disability: Paralysis.
Details:
When Ranjini’s husband told police that she had died, her neighbors urged police to investigate. When they found marks on her neck, they questioned her husband; police say he confessed to strangling her because he “could not bear her suffering”.
Case Status:
Muniswami (Husband), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Sources:
Idukki: Bedridden woman killed by husband
Man held for strangling bedridden wife in Idukki
Name: Girija.
Died: April 21, 2022.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Melamcode, Kerala, India.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
Girija was found dead by her son; she had been strangled. Police arrested her husband, whom they suspect of killing her before injuring himself non-fatally.
Case Status:
Sadasivan Nair (Husband), hospitalized; will be arrested when his injuries are treated.
Sources:
Woman’s death turns out to be murder
Name: Gopichand.
Died: February 26, 2022.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead; drowning.
Location: Nalgonda, Telangana, India.
Disability: Blind, mentally ill.
Details:
Witnesses who were part of a “huge crowd” of bystanders report seeing Gopichand’s mother push him into a canal because “he was troubling her too much”. Several people tried to rescue the boy, but he was swept away by the strong current and is presumed dead.
Case Status:
N Shailaja (Mother), charged with attempted murder.
Sources:
Boy dies as mom pushes him into canal
Telangana: Mother pushes blind teenage son into canal
Mother took a dreadful step in Telangana, pushed the minor son into the canal, know what was the reason
Name: Jasbir Kaur.
Age at death: 81.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Name: Kamaljit Kaur.
Age at death: 55.
Disability: Down syndrome.
Died: February 7, 2022.
Cause of death: Laceration/Blood loss.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Details:
Jasbir and Kamaljit were found dead at their home after their Jasbir’s husband, Kamaljit’s father, reportedly called a family member and told her that he had killed them, that he did not want to “see their pain”. The family member called police, who made the arrest.
Case Status:
Purushottam Singh Gandhok (Husband), arrested and charged with murder.
Sources:
A 90-year-old Purshottam Singh Gandhok justifies the killing of his wife and daughter
A 90-year-old murderer getting better in Arthur Road jail
Ex-Army Man Slits Throats Of Bedridden Wife, Daughter In Mumbai
Wanted To End My Life: Senior Who Killed Wife And Daughter | Mumbai News – Times of India
Mumbai: 89-year-old ex-Army man slits throats of ailing wife, daughter
Mumbai: Fed up of their health issues, 89-year-old man kills wife, mentally unwell daughter
‘I killed them both, was not able to do all the household chores’
Name: Paramjeet Singh.
Died: January 9, 2022.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Bharat Nagar, Delhi, India.
Disability: Quadriplegic after injury in traffic accident.
Details:
Paramjeet’s family came home to find him injured and brought him to the hospital, but it was too late, and he died. They told police that Paramjeet’s father had come home drunk and beaten him with a wooden rod.
Case Status:
Ajmer Singh (Father), charged with murder.
Sources:
Paralysed man beaten to death by drunk father in Delhi
Delhi: 30-year-old paralysed man beaten to death by father
Name: Uday Sai.
Died: December 13, 2021.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified congenital condition.
Details:
Uday’s father pushed him into a water sump and closed the lid on him; then he hung himself. Uday’s mother, who had been asleep, woke up to find his body. She had recently quit her job to care for him.
Case Status:
Suresh (Father), deceased.
Sources:
Karnataka: Man kills son with special needs before ending his own life
Name: Rudransh Shankar.
Age at death: 6.
Disability: Kidney disease.
Name: Devansh Shankar.
Age at death: 4.
Disability: Unspecified health problems.
Died: August 6, 2021.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Sangareddy, Telangana, India.
Details:
On the day of their deaths, brothers Rudransh and Devansh didn’t want to take their medication, according to their mother. Angered, their mother allegedly strangled them to death before jumping into a lake. She was rescued by fishermen and arrested.
Case Status:
Jyotsna (Mother), arrested.
Source:
Upset with kids illness, mother strangles them in Telangana’s Sangareddy | Hyderabad News – Times of India
Telangana: Upset with their illness, mom kills two sons in Sangareddy | Hyderabad News – Times of India
Woman strangles two children to death, later jumps into stream in Sangareddy
Telangana: Disturbed over sons’ chronic illness, woman strangles them to death, then attempts suicide