Madurai: A woman hid the body of her 80-year-old grandmother in a plastic drum for two weeks, before burying it behind her house in Melur on Wednesday. Following complaints from neighbours of a foul smell, police recovered the body and initiated a probe.Veerammal of Mangalampatti, who was bedridden for the past five months, was taken care of by her granddaughter Amsavalli.After Veerammal died on April 23, the granddaughter placed the body inside a drum at her house, and left for her native place. On Wednesday, Amsavalli returned and buried the body behind her house with help of her brother-in-law.However, the neighbours who got suspicious about the stench called police. On a formal complaint from the village administrative officer, who sought action against improper handling and burial of the deceased, Kottampatti police filed a case and initiated an inquiry.Police recovered the body and sent it for postmortem. A senior police official said Amsavalli had told them that she placed the body inside a plastic drum as she didn’t know what else to do. “We have asked doctors to assess whether the granddaughter is suffering from any mental health condition,” said police.
