The bungalow of Sheela Reddy in Indiranagar, Bangalore
A 53-year-old woman lay dead in her sprawling bungalow in the heart of Bangalore for nearly five months, her body decomposed and half reduced to bones as not even close relatives visited her.
The police say Sheela Reddy may have starved to death in her two-storey home at least four or five months ago, a shocking irony in the Indiranagar colony, home to retired bureaucrats and counted among the more affluent parts of the I-T city.
Neighbours say Ms Reddy, a single woman, was upset that her family hadn't visited her for long. She had stopped going anywhere after her mother died about a year ago.
Such was her isolation, that her remains were found only when her brother Shankar Reddy came calling on Monday, after six months, and spotted her body through a cobwebbed window. He came because she had stopped responding to calls or emails.
The police found no food in the house. A post-mortem report on Friday is expected to reveal how she died.
"We often saw her walking around the house, muttering to herself," said former Director General of Police MD Singh, who lives right opposite Ms Reddy's bungalow but found out about her death only from the newspapers.
Neighbours said Ms Reddy never had visitors barring some relatives who came to give her food. Her parents reportedly owned large tracts of land in the area years ago.
"If it is a single woman, there is not much we can do by way of interaction, otherwise we are all very friendly" said Mr Singh, when asked whether anyone tried to help her.
Neighbours had complained of an overpowering stench from the house a few months ago, but the police had dismissed it saying it could be a dead dog.