Family shackles woman for 7 yrs at Domjur
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LOCALCORRESPONDENT
Domjur, HOWRAH: Thirty-year-old Basanti Sardar has forgotten the use of her limbs. She crawls around on the floor of the cramped seven-feet-by-five-feet room at her Domjur residence. For the past seven years, Sardar has been kept shackled in this room — all because she is 'mentally challenged'.
Basanti claimed she was normal and wanted to be set free. "I have been kept in chains for several years though I am fine. There are bruises on my legs and it hurts every time I try to move. I want to live normally, go out and work," she pleaded.
Basanti was reportedly driven away by her husband a year after marriage. Ever since she came back home, she was neither treated nor allowed to leave the room by her family.
Her mother Shobha, who works as a domestic help, claims she might turn violent if allowed to leave the room. "When she came back from her husband's house, she would scream and hurl things at people. So we decided to keep her in chains. I tried to get her treated but couldn't afford the medicines," she said.
The family alleged Basanti had been abused by her husband Uttam Kolay and her in-laws. About a year after the marriage, she had delivered a child, but it died within a month. "Basanti lost her mental balance completely after this," her mother claimed.
In the damp dingy room, Basanti lies on a sheet of cloth on the floor. She is given food twice a day and is freed only when she goes to relieve herself. Local residents know about her plight but no one has protested.
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Basanti claimed she was normal and wanted to be set free. "I have been kept in chains for several years though I am fine. There are bruises on my legs and it hurts every time I try to move. I want to live normally, go out and work," she pleaded.
Basanti was reportedly driven away by her husband a year after marriage. Ever since she came back home, she was neither treated nor allowed to leave the room by her family.
Her mother Shobha, who works as a domestic help, claims she might turn violent if allowed to leave the room. "When she came back from her husband's house, she would scream and hurl things at people. So we decided to keep her in chains. I tried to get her treated but couldn't afford the medicines," she said.
The family alleged Basanti had been abused by her husband Uttam Kolay and her in-laws. About a year after the marriage, she had delivered a child, but it died within a month. "Basanti lost her mental balance completely after this," her mother claimed.
In the damp dingy room, Basanti lies on a sheet of cloth on the floor. She is given food twice a day and is freed only when she goes to relieve herself. Local residents know about her plight but no one has protested.
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