Bargaon: In a heart-wrenching incident, an octogenarian woman who is barely able to walk without the help of her walking sticks was seen begging for help after reportedly being thrown out of her own house by her stepson Monday.
The woman said the man whom she had raised from childhood turned out to be her biggest tormentor. He allegedly seized all her properties and subsequently drove her out of the house. The incident was reported from Jharmunda village under Bargaon block in Sundargarh district.
Mukta Naik (75) had no children of her own. She was the sole owner of a vast property including 11 acres of land, a house and other valuables after her husband Maheswar Naik died leaving everything to her.
With no successor left, she decided to adopt her brother’s son and raise him as her own. She met her brother and expressed her desire to adopt her nephew Brushab to which the family members readily agreed.
Mukta took Brushab to her house and raised him like her own son. However, Brushab was eyeing Mukta’s property and wanted to acquire it. He forced her to transfer all the properties to his name.
Later, he sold the lands and was living a life of luxury. Still overcome by greed and desire, he hatched a plan to eliminate Mukta. As per plan, he took her to Jharsuguda railway station and tried to escape after leaving her inside a moving train.
However, Mukta managed to escape and returned home. Since then, Brushab began to torture the elderly woman and assaulted her. He kept her without food for days together locked inside a room. Later, he threw her out of the house.
Meanwhile, some relatives pretending to rescue Mukta took her home and convinced her to hand them over all her bank accounts and savings. No sooner did they get their hands on the money, they again threw her out of the house.
Left with no one to take care of her, Mukta is now wandering from village to village and begging for a living. She narrates her plight to whoever talks to her.
She is reportedly afraid of approaching police as Brushab has allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she does so. Locals urged the district administration to rescue her and take action the accused stepson. PNN