New Delhi: A 10-year-old boy stayed with his mother's dead body at home for four days, thinking that she was sleeping.


The boy went to school every day, properly dressing up on his own, ate food, and slept next to his mother, unaware that she died due to an accidental fall.


The shocking incident came to light in Tirupati on Saturday after the boy called his uncle to inform him about a foul smell emanating from his mother's body.


Rajyalakshmi (41), working as a teacher in a private college, had been staying with her son Shyam Kishore in a rented flat in the Vidyanagar area for the last two years due to some differences with her husband. The boy, said to be mentally unstable, is a student of Class 5 at a private school.


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The woman, who had recently completed her PhD from Karnataka, was scheduled to leave for Belagavi on March 9 to receive her degree. She had informed her brother, Durga Prasad, who lives in Chittoor district, about her travel plans. She had also told him that she has been suffering from a headache for some time and planned to consult a physician after returning from Belagavi.


Rajyalakshmi is believed to have fallen off her bed on the night of March 9 and died of a head injury. Her son thought she was sleeping. For three days, the boy ate snacks stored at home and regularly attended school. When neighbours enquired about his mother, he told them that she was resting.


On the fourth day, when a foul smell started emanating, he called his uncle. The boy told him that his mother had been sleeping for four days.


Durga Prasad rushed to the house and was shocked to find his sister lying dead. The police shifted the body for autopsy. A police officer said it appeared to be a case of natural death.