Decomposed body of 75-year-old man found in daughter's flat

The body of a 75-year-old man was found in a decomposed condition in the flat of his daughter, living in the US, in L B Nagar locality of the city, with the police suspecting that the septuagenarian might have died a month back.

The deceased was identified as LN Murthy, a native of Rajamahendravaram town in Andhra Pradesh.

He had come to Hyderabad to attend a marriage in mid-August and was staying in the flat which is equipped with the central locking system, a police official said today.

He said Murthy was not responding to the phone calls made by his wife and daughter from US since August last week.
 

"They inquired with some relatives who informed them that they were also not aware about Murthy's whereabouts since he attended the marriage, which forced them to come to the city," L B Nagar police station inspector P Kasi Reddy said.

He said Murthy's family members became apprehensive, as his phone was continuously switched off.

"The family members came to Hyderabad five days ago only to find his body lying on the ground in the apartment in a decomposed state," the inspector said.

Police and Murthy's kin believe that he might have died a month ago considering the degree of the decomposition of his body and the time since they had last communication with him.

Reddy said neither the watchman nor the neighbours in the apartment complex were aware that Murthy was staying alone in the flat, as it used to be locked.

The family also did not suspect anything amiss over Murthy going incommunicado as he had the habit of not answering the phone calls if he was not in good mood, a neighbour claimed.

As the family members did not lodge any complaint no case was registered, the inspector said.

"Murthy's family members were not willing to file any complaint as they believe that it was a natural death and that he was also having some health problems," Reddy said.

He dismissed reports that Murthy had stumbled and fell on the floor near the bathroom while trying to shoo away a lizard, as they found the dead reptile near his body.

"It was not clear when he exactly died as no postmortem was conducted," the inspector added.