 Disabled Indian boy, 9, tied by his leg to bus stop on scorching summer's day so his grandmother can go to work 
 
 Lakhan Kale, of Mumbai, cannot hear or speak and has cerebral palsy 
 
 Grandmother Sakhubai Kale raised Lakhan on the street near bus stop 
 
 His father died several years ago and mother walked out on the family 
 
 Concern among charities and police have now seen him taken into care 
 
 But activists say his plight on the streets comes as little surprise in India 
 
 The nine-year-old boy dressed in blue lay listlessly on the pavement in the scorching Mumbai summer afternoon, his ankle tethered with rope to a bus stop, unheeded by pedestrians strolling past. Lakhan Kale cannot hear or speak and suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, so his grandmother and carer tied him up to keep him safe while she went to work, selling toys and flower garlands on the city's roadsides. At night she would tie him to her own leg as they slept on the pavement so she would know if he tried to walk away. Homeless: Lakhan's grandmother and carer Sakhubai Kale, 66, tied him up to keep him safe while she went to work, selling toys and flower garlands on the city's roadside 
 
 Family: Lakhan's father died several years ago and his mother walked out on the family, his grandmother said 
 
 ‘I am a single old woman. Two days ago, a daily printed a picture of Lakhan with his leg tethered, after which a team from Marine Drive police station brought in Lakhan's family for questioning and, later, took them to meet social worker Meena Mutha.
– Lakhan Kale's grandmother would tie him to something on the street before each work day and walk away. That's because 9-year-old Lakhan has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and no one else in Mumbai, India, would care for him, ABC News reports. Cringing? You're not alone: News photos of Lakhan tied to a bus stop drew enough outrage in India that a state-run home took the boy in, and activists found a rallying cry for the nation's 40 to 60 million disabled, reports the Daily Mail (which also has photos of Lakhan). "There's no collective responsibility," said the head of a charity for the disabled. "You have a disabled child, you look after it." A social worker for the mentally ill said Mumbai lacks facilities, and those that exist are low on staffing or short on space in the densely-packed city. An equal-rights bill for the disabled reached the Indian parliament in February, but a lawyer who helped draft it five years ago said it's been diluted. At least Lakhan's grandmother now has peace of mind: "The shelter will also take care of Lakhan's treatments," she told the Times of India, before tearfully asking staffers how often she could visit her grandson.