Police officers had to reprimand a young man who abandoned his mentally unstable mother in front of the taluk hospital in Athani on Sunday.
Some street vendors and passers-by noticed that the young man had dropped off his mother in the street in front of the taluk hospital gate. He also put her bed, some bags and clothes beside her. While she looked confused and remained silent, he turned to go, leaving her there.
The young man was Sridhar Tolasi and the woman who found herself in such unfortunate circumstances was Savitri Bai, his mother.
When cornered by some passers-by, he gave evasive answers and asked them to mind their own business. Soon a crowd gathered around the woman. Someone called the local police. Meanwhile, people stopped him and told him that he will not be able to go till the police arrived.
Police officers who arrived there in minutes began asking Sridhar Tolasi some questions. He identified himself as a law student in Pune. His family hailed from Athani. He had decided to leave his mother in front of the taluk hospital as she was suffering from psychiatric problems for some time now.
Police officers then told him that this was not the way to treat his mother. They asked him to take his mother back home. They also asked him to give an undertaking promising to take care of her and take her to a qualified psychiatrist for treatment.
