New Delhi:
A 32-year-old woman, kept confined and starved by her in-laws for over two and a half months at their house, was rescued by police and a welfare organisation and admitted to hospital, police said today. Her condition is critical.
A mother of three children, Kavita, who was confined in a room for this period, was rescued from her in-laws' Jaitpur residence in south Delhi on Saturday afternoon.
Kavita has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Holy Family hospital where doctors termed her condition as critical.
"Married to Deepak, a general store shop owner, in 1999, her married life began happily," Ashok, a member of the welfare association who rescued the woman, told IANS.
The couple even had two daughters in the age group of 6 to 10 and a one-year-old son.
However, around two years ago, things changed as her husband and in-laws began harassing her to get money from her family.
"Her husband and her mother-in-law tortured her for the past two years. When she fell ill, they refused to have her treated. When the washing machine broke down, they refused to have it repaired and asked her to get the money from us," said Kavita's mother.
Ashok said since the past two months, Kavita was allegedly not allowed to meet anyone, and was starved.
Her mother learnt of her plight and sought to intervene but was sent packing by the in-laws. Kavita's maternal uncle then approached Ashok's organisation, which sought the police's help to free the woman.
"We took help of the local police in the rescue operation. We found Kavita in a bad state. She had injured her waist and was behaving like a madwoman when we barged into the room where she was confined. The whole room was stinking," said Ashok.
A police officer said that she has been suffering from tuberculosis for a long time but her in-laws did not consult any doctor for her treatment.
"She was unable to say a word properly. She only replies to a question with a yes or no," said the officer.
A probe is on and a case will be registered against her in-laws if the charges are found true, said the police.