HYDERABAD: A woman and her daughter were rescued by their neighbours and police after they were locked up in their one-room house and a concrete wall was raised in front of the room’s door.

Tasleem Jehan and her daughter Dua later told the police that the person who tried to confine them within their house was Sohail, son of Abdul Aziz. “He is my maternal cousin,” said Ms Tasleem, who could not guess a motive behind this inhuman act.

According to Dua, her mother sits outside the house in evening with some woman neighbours as a daily routine. “When she didn’t turn up on Friday (June 28) to join them, they contacted her by phone and came to know that we have been locked up and confined to our home this way by Sohail. Then residents of the neighbourhood came to our rescue. They demolished the newly-raised wall and broke open the door in the presence of police”.

The house, shared with Ms Tasleem by Sohail and another close relative, is located in the katchi abadi of Latifabad, Unit-5.

Neighbours, police demolish wall, break open door to rescue victims

The B-Section police have registered a case against Sohail under Sections 342, 448, 511 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code vide crime No. 134/24.

Ms Tasleem told the police that her husband, Abdul Haq had died about 20 years ago and she, along with her daughter, had been living in the middle portion of the house. His brother, Mohammad Irfan, lives in the adjacent house. She said her husband had allowed his brother-in-law, late Abdul Aziz, to live in one portion of the house. Sohail is son of Abdul Aziz and he now lives in this house with his wife.

“Sohail had deprived us of basic amenities. When I complained to Irfan about it, he asked me to keep quiet. On Friday afternoon, Sohail, his wife, Saima, and his brother-in-law, Waseem, shoved me and Dua and locked the door from outside. Sohail had already brought bricks, cement and other construction material which was dumped in front of the main door.

I thought he is going to repair his part of the premises. But when I tried to ascertain his intentions, he pushed me and my daughter and locked the door. He then started raising the wall in front of the door to seal our portion. Irfan also didn’t help us from other side of the house,“ she stated.

“We remained inside the room without food till we were rescued,” she added.

Ms Tasleem said she had informed her brothers, Anwar Baig and Nazar Baig, about the ordeal.

She said the papers of the house were with Mr Irfan. Sohail had nothing to do with the property, she added.

She said her husband had allowed Abdul Aziz to live in one portion of the house. Now Sohail was living there.

Police had made no arrests till late Saturday evening as the suspect had already escaped.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2024