Depressed by death of loved ones, sisters shun food & the world; result of 'social apathy' say experts
Noida, Apr 13 : One of the two sisters, rescued from their Noida flat after they locked themselves in following severe depression over their father's death, died at Kailash Hospital here Wednesday.
"Anuradha, the elder sister, died at around 7.30 a.m. A lot of factors led to the death," Superintendent of Police Anant Dev told IANS in this suburban city adjoining the capital.
The two sisters were found in a state of acute starvation Tuesday and immediately hospitalised.
Both sisters locked themselves up in their home for seven months and were left to fend for themselves and in a state of utter loneliness.
According to a police officer, the sisters - Anuradha Behl, 41, and Sonali, 38 - had shut themselves up in their house No.326 in the posh Sector-29 of Noida for seven months after their father Colonel (retired) O.P. Behl died two years ago.
They had lost their mother earlier.
However, Superintendent of Police (City) Anant Dev said their father had died in an accident in 1992 and their mother shortly afterwards.
Anuradha suffered multiple organ weakness due to insufficient vitamin intake, said Sarika Chandra, the attending doctor at Kailash Hospital.
Sonali is also in a state of deep depression, she added.
Police, acting on information from neighbours, had to break open the door when the sisters -- both unmarried -- refused to open the door, Anant Dev told IANS.
Their younger brother Vipin Behl, who lives in Sector-50 of Noida with his wife and children, and a maternal uncle used to look after them. But after falling into depression, the two sisters were not cooperating with them, said inspector Vijay Prakash of Sector-20 police station.
"After the death of their parents, Vipin and a maternal uncle used to support them. When their savings exhausted and the sisters stopped cooperating with them, the brother and the uncle dragged their feet," the police officer said.
"That situation forced the sisters into isolation. Taking a note of severe isolation the Residents Welfare Association officials contacted social activist Usha Thakur after they failed to persuade the sisters to open the door," the officer added.
The two women had a dog, which died about two and half months ago.
Anuradha has done her Ph.D after completing her course in chartered accountancy. She had left her accountancy practice after her parents' death.
Sonali also has doctorate in history.
"When we opened the door, everyone started vomiting because of the foul smell. The elder woman was half naked on her bed. She could not speak and did not know what was going on. So I called Kailash Hospital," Usha Thakur, who accompanied police, told reporters.
According to Vijay Prakash, Anuradha was still unconscious while being brought out of the house, but Sonali was stable and could manage to speak.
When the door was opened, the women asked for water.
Thakur said: "I think they are mentally disturbed... their brother also left them and went to Sector 50. There was no one to console or talk to them."
This TV grab shows the elder sister Anuradha being rushed to the hospital on Tuesday where she died the following day
Their food came from some canteen, she said.
"The neighbours said the food used to be kept outside the door," she added.
Psychologists blame social apathy for sisters' locked-in stay
According to Sandeep Vohra, a psychiatrist, it could be a case of extreme emotional withdrawal.
"It could be extreme depression or depression underlined by some sort of psychotic element in it. In a case like this, both the daughters must have been emotionally dependent on their father and he may have been the one taking all the decisions for them," said Vohra.
This could also happen to people who are deeply introvert in nature, he added.
Residents of the locality are seen outside the sisters' building in this TV grab. Psychologists suggest acute social apathy led to sisters' plight
It could also be social apathy towards mental health that leads to situations like in Noida where two sisters remained locked up in their house for seven months while the neighbourhood failed to realise the gravity of their pain, psychologists said.
"There is so much stigma attached to mental health in the society that people don't come out to help those in need," city based psychologist Monica kumar told IANS Tuesday.
There is acute lack of awareness about the ways to help such people who move away into isolation, Kumar added.
Instead of abandoning people suffering from similar mental condition, they should be given proper psychological counselling and care and be involved in community activities, said the expert.
Psychologists are, however, uncertain about what caused the sisters to take such an extreme step.
Source: IANS
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