A 62-year-old woman from a village in Panipat, who was forced to live in subhuman conditions, famished and locked in the stairs of her home for the past one-and-a-half years, has been rescued following the intervention of district authorities.
Women protection-cum-child marriage prohibition officer Rajni Gupta received the information about the woman over phone and on Wednesday evening, she led a team to the house of the victim, Sombiri, in Jhamba village of Panipat and found her locked in the stairs on the second floor.
“When we reached there with my team, we found that she was locked in the stairs for over a year. It seems that woman has not eaten anything for many days,” Gupta said.
There was no electricity or fan in the room and she also has Tuberculosis. She was lying on the floor as there was no bed in the room, Gupta said.
“She started crying and told us that there are around 16 members in the family, including her husband and three sons. Her husband beats her regularly and nobody intervenes. She informed that nobody gives her food except her youngest daughter-in-law,” the officer said.
After recording the victim’s statement, the family was summoned by Gupta to her office on Thursday. The victim’s husband Phool Kumar has been directed to provide her with all the facilities and treatment for Tuberculosis and other age related ailments immediately.
{{/usCountry}}After recording the victim’s statement, the family was summoned by Gupta to her office on Thursday. The victim’s husband Phool Kumar has been directed to provide her with all the facilities and treatment for Tuberculosis and other age related ailments immediately.
{{/usCountry}}Gupta said that officials from her office will make another visit in the next couple of days to the victim’s house and strict action will be taken against them for non-compliance.
However, no FIR was registered against the family at the Panipat women police station after Sombiri requested the authorities to give her husband and son one week’s time. The family was told to give in writing that they will provide proper facilities to her.
This is not the first such incident reported in the district. In October 2020, a 36-year-old woman, who was forced to live inside a toilet for over a year by her husband, was also rescued from Rishpur village of Panipat district.