In a harrowing example of brutality against women, a 35-year-old Indian housewife was locked inside a toilet for more than a year and a half before she was rescued by Haryana police on Wednesday. While the woman's husband claimed that she was "mentally unstable", her rescuers denied the charge.
Naresh, the woman's husband, alleged that his wife showed no improvement despite several visits to the doctor, which prompted him to take the extreme measure. He claimed that the woman wouldn't listen to his instructions.
Surender Dahiya, head of the Sanoli police station, said a case has been registered against the accused under Sections 498A (domestic violence) and 342 of the Indian Penal Code. The couple has been married for the last 17 years and shares three children.
"We found her locked inside the toilet. During the investigation, it was found that she had been forced to live in inhuman conditions for the past one and a half years. She was not even provided proper food and drinking water", Women Protection and Child Marriage Prohibition Officer Rajni Gupta, who led the rescue effort in the village of Rishipur, informed the media.
