By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A father in Orissa chained his apparently insane adult son for nearly 10 years because he was poor and could not pay for the treatment, a media report Friday said.
Akhaya Sethi, 33, a resident of Ranigoda village in Cuttack district, developed mental complications a decade ago and started attacking his family members and people, The Khabara newspaper quoted his 65-year-old father Giridhari Sethi as saying.
Paucity of funds for his medical treatment compelled Girdhari to chain Akhaya up and confine him in the house.
Akhaya, Giridhari’s eldest son, now wears iron shackles on both his legs and hands and is confined to a small thatched hut, the report said.
Giridhari maintains a family of seven, including himself, from the money he earns by cultivating a small farm he owns.
“We don’t have money and cannot afford treatment. There was no other way but to tie him in chains,” Giridhari told the newspaper.
Block Development Officer K.C. Sahu, who visited the family earlier this week, said the district administration is taking steps to free Akhaya and provide him medical treatment.