Dhanbad: The discovery of Bokaro siblings Manjushri Ghosh, 56, and Dipak Ghosh, 50, locked in, hungry and in a filthy state at their posh Cooperative Colony house in Bokaro on Monday has shocked and galvanised the steel town, including Bokaro Old Xaverians' Association, into action.

Neighbours who had not seen the "reclusive Ghosh siblings for months" had called in police who discovered Manjushri and Dipak in shocking conditions. The sister was lying on the floor of a room in the first floor amid faeces and seemed as if she had not eaten for days while the brother was similarly found in the ground floor with his leg tied to the bed.

Prima facie, the siblings looked like they had been tortured. But no FIR has been lodged as yet as the siblings are in trauma at Bokaro General Hospital and unable to speak, explained district police chief Karthik S. "But as soon as they can give a statement, a case will be lodged and action taken against the guilty," he said.

The Ghosh family were a part of the creamy layer of the town, with police putting the value of the Cooperative Colony house at Rs 90 lakh.

Children of Bokaro Steel officer S.K. Ghosh, Dipak was a school dropout while Manjushri, who studied in St Xavier's School, Bokaro, was a bright student who went on to do her postgraduate in English, neighbours recalled. However, after their father died in 1981 - the mother had died earlier - Manjushri seemed to lose her bearings. The siblings hardly interacted with anyone.

In 2001, the duo, who did not have a source of income, rented out a part of the house to one Manosh Kumar for a medicine shop. A year later, Kumar brought in his relative, an ophthalmologist named Dr D.K. Gupta, who started an eye clinic and a optical shop. Mantosh Kumar died two months ago but Dr Gupta is carrying out his practice at the house.

Dr Gupta claimed not to know anything about the Ghosh siblings, a neighbour said, which prompted them to call the police. Bokaro steel city thana OC said they had a telephonic talk with Dr Gupta where he again claimed to be ignorant about the health of Manjushri and Dipak.

This claim has surprised neighbours. "Dipak used to work in Dr Gupta's clinic writing down names of patients. How come Dr Gupta did not notice anything amiss?" asked a neighbour not willing to come on quote.

As police wait for the siblings to recover and shed light on the mystery, Bokaro Old Xaverians' Association or BOXA has rallied around their beleaguered alumna Manjushri. "We have collected Rs 7 lakh already from members around the world and will ensure better treatment of both Manjushri and Dipak," said Kumar Amardeep, BOXA president. "We will also carry out the repair work of their home which is in very bad shape with broken pipelines, windows and doors, even floors," he said.