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

The boy went to school every day by properly dressing up, ate food and slept besides 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 at a private college, was staying with her son Shyam Kishore at 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, was a student of Class 5 at a private school.

The woman, who had recently completed her PhD from Karnataka, was scheduled to leave for March 9 to Belagavi 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 down from bed on the night of March 9 and died of 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 her mother, he told that she was resting.

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

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