COPS RESCUE 17-YR-OLD GIRL
Pankhuri Ghosh was found living in pitiable conditions, surviving on two meals a day and sleeping on a sofa surrounded by four-foot deep garbage
NEW DELHI: In a shocking case reported from East Delhi, a 17-year-old girl, who is reportedly mentally-unwell, was found on Saturday to have been ‘forcefully confined' for six months inside her two room flat in Pandav Nagar area.
The girl, Pankhuri Ghosh alias Pihu, was found living in pitiable conditions, surviving on two meals a day and sleeping on a sofa surrounded by four-foot deep garbage. By the time the police rescued her, Pihu was found to be in an emaciated condition and had claimed that she chose to live inside the house on her own free will.
The neighbours have, on the other hand, alleged that she was forcefully confined by her mother, who is also reportedly depressed after her divorce from Pihu's father in 2011.
The couple has two daughters born out of wedlock, of which the elder daughter lives with the mother in a rented flat in Pandav Nagar, a few metres from where Pihu was found.
The case came to light on Saturday, when the neighbours heard a woman wailing. The complainant in the case Sushil Sarkar, who runs a property dealing business, had reported the incident to the cops.
“Everyone knew that she had been confined inside the house. But her mother was also mentally unwell, used to create problems and had also filed a case against me. But that day, we could not stop ourselves and called the beat officer to open the house,” said Sarkar.
The girl's mother, Krishna Ghosh, had reportedly offered money to the police to not open the door.
Eventually, cops broke open the door on Saturday to find the horrible conditions the girl was living in.
The entire room was flooded with packets of processed food, several hundred packets of chips and sweets, and many polyethylene covers of different shapes and colours.
A dilapidated clock, a broken ceiling fan and a nonfunctional fridge occupied the flat, where a dim light helped the police team make their way through the garbage.
The girl was found sitting on a sofa, barely able to speak. She was taken to Lal Bahadur Shahtri Hospital, after which she was counselled by members from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
Police have claimed that the girl has not levelled any allegations against the mother. “The girl had some problems with her hair and did not want to go out in public,” said a police official investigating the house. Since no complaint has been received, the police have still not taken any action in the case.
When the girl's father, Dhanajay Ghosh, heard about the news he was devastated.
“The ground slipped from beneath my feet. After the divorce, I was never allowed to meet my daughter. I had written applications to her school as well, but she (Krishna Ghosh) would never allow me to enter the house and only would ask for money,” he said.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that residents in the locality were aware that the girl had been forcefully confined, yet took no action.
“Everyone knew about the case, but her mother was a very problematic figure and we thought not to interfere in their family quarrels. But looking at the filth, I wish we could have acted before,” said Amit Baruah, a resident.