Haryana woman, locked in toilet by husband for nearly a year, rescued by authorities

Chandigarh: In a shocking incident, a man allegedly kept his wife locked up in the toilet of his home in a Panipat village for nearly a year, saying she faced mental health problems, police said on Thursday. The 35-year-old woman, the mother of three grown-up children of 11, 15, and 16 years, was found living in an unhuman condition in the toilet for nearly a year, the police said after rescuing her on Tuesday. The woman was rescued from her confinement from Rishipur village in Panipat by a team of district Women and Child Welfare Department officials with the help of police on Tuesday after they got a tip-off. The woman had been locked up in the toilet. Upon questioning, her husband Naresh Kumar, who was arrested for the offence, claimed she was having “mental health issues” for nearly three years, said Panipat’s Sanoli police station in-charge Surender Dahiya. Dahiya said a case was registered against Kumar under sections 498A and 342 of the Indian Penal Code on charges of a man subjecting his wife to cruelty and wrongfully confining her. A team of Haryana State Commission for Women also visited Panipat on Wednesday and enquired about the woman. The SHO said the couple were married for several years and have three children, two of them daughters. Preliminary investigations revealed the woman was not being provided even proper food and she had turned frail and weak during her confinement, he said. The man, a farmer, claimed that his wife was having mental health issues and would often turn violent, said Dahiya. The SHO quoted the man as claiming that his wife would often pick up various things including garbage and throw them around when she would go out. Dahiya said after her rescue the woman was medically examined at a local hospital twice and authorities will further take her to PGIMS, Rohtak for a detailed check-up, including for her mental health. Though her vital parameters are okay, we will also get her checked up from a mental health expert to assess the adverse impact which the confinement may have caused, he said. Asked why the children did not speak up for their mother, he said, “We are looking into this aspect. We have got them counselled.” He also said the children used to go to school. Asked if no one in the neighbourhood came to know about the woman being locked inside a toilet, the police official said the villagers were told about her mental illness.