Surat: Retired businessman at the mercy of daughter

SURAT: He once ran a successful textile business in Mumbai that he had inherited from his father. But 72-year-old Mahendra Shah never knew that he would some day live at the mercy of his daughter in Surat. The septuagenarian, who is hearing impaired, also has to sometimes put up with his daughter Manisha’s violent behaviour. A mother of two sons, Manisha lost her husband 10 years ago and is facing financial crisis.
Though he has been living in such miserable condition since last few years, Shah’s sufferings came to light on Monday when he collapsed on Annie Besant Road.When the locals rushed to his help and inquired about his health, Shah narrated his ordeal to them.
One of the Samaritans then approached the Athwa Lines police station and filed an application against Shah’s daughter Manisha. Shah, whose health worsened after he suffered a fracture in his leg recently, was scared to even talk to police.
“I suggested Shah that he should return home. But he refused and said that if he goes back without finishing the work given, his daughter will beat him. We convinced him and took Shah to his home in an autorickshaw,” said Piyush Shah, a local resident. But when Shah tried to talk with Manisha, she got furious following which he filed a police application against her.
Manisha admitted to TOI that she sometimes assaulted her father who is hearing impaired. “He is in reasonably good health but doesn’t take care of himself and even dresses up improperly. So sometimes I lose my temper and slap him,” Manisha said, who lost her earlier job in a shop during lockdown and had no source of income. “I recently got a job as a security guard in a private hospital at a salary of Rs 8,000 per month. My brother and doctor uncle too help me with my father’s monthly expenses,” she added.
Shah’s financial condition worsened many years ago and was dependent on his brother and son. While they wanted to send him to an oldage home, she decided to keep him with her.