A 50-year-old woman who was held captive by her own brothers for 10 years has been rescued by Hafizabad police.
According to a report in Dawn, police spokesperson Ahmad Jamal, in talks with media said that police officials raided a house on an anonymous tip-off and found the woman being held captive there. The woman had allegedly been locked away over an inheritance dispute.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the two men who allegedly imprisoned the woman. According to the FIR, the police were tipped off by a person who said that the woman's shrieks could be heard in the neighbourhood and neighbours were unable to sleep. The informant said that it seemed like the woman was close to her death and that she should be rescued on a humanitarian basis.
Following the tip-off, a police team was sent to the address, which found the house locked. While the police were trying to find a way into the house, neighbours gathered in the street outside. Meanwhile, one of the two brothers who had allegedly confined the woman, returned to the house. Reportedly, he ‘threatened to kill’ the police officials present at the scene.
The man refused to let the police enter the house due to which the officials had to break the padlock. Inside, they found a semi-conscious woman locked up in a room. The woman was found in her own excrement.
The neighbours present at the scene identified the woman as the two men's sister. The police brought the woman out of the room following which she was sent to the Rescue 1122 Trauma Centre.
The two men have been arrested and an FIR has been registered against them under sections 344, 346, 498A, 506, 186 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
During the raid, Punjab Minister for Human Rights Ijaz Alam was also present. Ijaz Aslam has assured that the culprits of this horrendous act would be dealt with and the woman would be provided the best possible care.