Hafizabad police on Friday rescued a 50-year-old woman who was held captive in a room by her own brothers for 10 years.
According to police spokesperson Ahmad Jamal, officials of the department acting on an anonymous tip-off on the telephone raided the house where the woman was being held captive. The woman was allegedly locked away over an inheritance dispute.
According to the first investigation report (FIR) registered against the two men, the person who tipped the police off said that the woman’s shrieks did not let neighbours sleep all night and it sounded like she was close to death. The informant said that the woman should be rescued on a humanitarian basis.
According to the FIR, a police team was dispatched to the address, only to find the house locked from outside. While the police tried to find a way inside the premises, a number of neighbours gathered in the street with them. Soon after, one of the brothers returned home and “threatened to kill” the police officials present at the scene.
Upon the man’s refusal to let the police enter the house, officials broke the padlock. Once inside, the officials found a semi-conscious woman locked up inside a room. The woman was found in her own excrement.
The neighbours identified the woman as the two men’s sister.
After the police managed to bring the woman out of the room, a neighbour gave her a bath and changed her clothes before she was sent to the Rescue 1122 Trauma Centre.
The police then arrested the two men and registered an FIR against them under sections 344, 346, 498A, 506, 186 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Punjab Minister for Human Rights Ijaz Alam was also present at the time of the raid. He assured that the woman would be provided the best possible care while the culprits of the heinous act would be given exemplary punishment.
