Latur, A 60-year-old woman and her daughter, both said to be mentally unwell, were allegedly locked inside a room at their home by her son in Maharashtra’s Latur, and were rescued with the help of police and social workers amid claims that they were confined there for the last two years, officials said.
Relatives said the two women, who were rescued on Tuesday, were restricted in a room as they used to trouble neighbours by hurling stones at them.
The room from where they were rescued was found littered with several hundreds of empty plastic water bottles and emitted foul smell.
The shocking incident came to light in Ratnapur Nagar near Pakharsangvi village, about 5 km from Latur city.
Social activist Venkat Panhale had received a tip-off about it eight days ago. After verifying the information, he contacted Sharad Zare, founder of Majha Ghar, a shelter home for underprivileged children. Both of them then met Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe on Monday and informed him about the situation.
The SP directed the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell to take immediate action.
Accompanied by social workers, a police team reached the spot on Monday and rescued the woman and her 30-year-old daughter around 11 am the next day.
“We had received complaints that the two women were confined in a room for two years. Their room was covered with a tarpaulin sheet from outside so that nobody could see inside. A small hole was made in the tarpaulin through which food and water bottles were passed to them. When the lock was broken, thousands of empty water bottles were found inside, and a foul smell had spread across the area,” Panhale told PTI.
Inspector Shrikant More of MIDC Police Station said, “According to the kin of the women, the latter were mentally unwell and used to trouble neighbours by throwing stones at them. Therefore, they were kept in a room and were provided food on time.”
The elderly woman’s son, Anjum Shoukat Shaikh, claimed that his mother was mentally ill, but she was found speaking fluently in Marathi, Panhale said, adding that his sister, however, remained silent due to the prolonged trauma.
He demanded strict action against Shaikh.
According to inspector More, Shaikh showed the medical records of the two women to the police.
“As Shaikh and his brother assured that they would take proper care of their mother and sister, the women were handed over to them,” he said.
No case was registered in this connection.
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