Goa Woman Confined In Room For 20 Years, Rescued

A woman in her 50s was found locked up in a room in Goa. She had been confined to a room in her parents’ house for the last 20 years because of her ‘abnormal behaviour’ in Candolim village, said the police.

A dark room has been her home for the past 20 years. She was given food and water through a window, while living in the same house as her parents and two brothers.

NGO Bailancho Saad found out about the woman's condition and tipped off the police. The matter came to light after a person, who had claimed to have seen the woman, sent them an email. A team from the women’s police station then raided the house. They found the woman was naked and did not want to leave the room. The room had no electricity and had a stench of urine.

A police official told PTI that her family members locked her in the room after she returned from Mumbai 20 years ago. She had been briefly married to a man there, but soon found out that he was already married. When she came back, her family members said that she had started acting 'abnormally'.

"She would insist on not wearing any clothes. She was under treatment for some time, but it was discontinued. We used to provide her with food and look after her," the woman's brother said.

The woman has been taken for medical treatment, and has now been admitted to the Panaji-based Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour. Her family members were arrested, but have been granted bail.

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