PALAKKAD: The Kerala Women's Commission has registered a case and demanded a detailed report from the Nenmara police over the incident in which a youth Rahman hid his lover Sajitha in a room of his house for ten years in Palakkad's Ayilur village.
Shiji Shivaji, a member of the Women's Commission, told The New Indian Express that after the lockdown, the Chairperson of the Commission Josephine and herself would visit the couple at their home in Vithunassery and take stock of the developments. She said that though the confinement was in the name of “love”, the fact was that she was denied freedom all these years. Naturally, she would not have been happy in such circumstances, Shiji said.
The incident had happened in Karakattuparambu in Ayilur panchayat when Rahman, 34, who was in love with Sajitha, 28, decided to elope with her in February 2010. He hid Sajitha in his room and wanted to move out to another house within a few days.
However, opposition from both the families and the lack of an income forced him to hide her from others in his room, he said. Rahman set up a television in his room and also fixed a lock to the door which was operated electrically so that no one else could open it. The girl used to freshen up and go to the toilet in the night when all others were asleep.
Sajitha said Rahman used to bring food all these years and share it with her always. She said when Rahman went out for work, she was glued to the TV and used a headset so that the noise did not come out. Sajitha said that all her needs were met by Rahman but she did not like the parents of Rahman always blaming him.
Rahman said he was taken to psychiatrists and even sorcerers by his parents for treatment. A leading psychiatrist in Palakkad said that there was nothing wrong with him. Now when he and Sajitha moved to the rented house in Vithunassery, Rahman said that he was given only his television and nothing else by his parents.
Her parents Velayudhan and Shantha will be visiting the rented house of their daughter in Vithunassery on Friday. A sense of confidence needs to come into the lives of Rahman and Sajitha, said Pushpakaran, ward member of Ayilur panchayat and neighbour of Rahman.
He said that he along with Basheer, the brother of Rahman had gone to the police station to file the missing complaint three months ago. Similarly, when Basheer informed him of spotting his missing brother, he had gone to the police station. But he was shocked to see Sajitha in the police station who was declared missing a decade ago.
He said that all the locals could not believe that a girl would stay in a room for all these years. He recounted an incident when just before going missing from his house, Rahmen had not eaten for three days. The parents called me to mediate and he began to eat again. Pushpakaran said the two-wheeler of Rahman was purchased by his father for him and they have also registered 5 cents of land in his name.
As for Sajitha, Pushpakaran said he has talked to her and found that she knew of all the important festivals and the name of the old ward member and other minute details of Karakattuparambu which led him and the locals to believe that she indeed stayed in the house all these years.