TUMAKURU : Fearing that her two daughters would marry outside their caste, a woman from a Tumakuru village allegedly tied and locked them up inside the house for a decade. The bizarre story, which came to light when the older daughter died of malnutrition, happened in Sarthavalli village near Tiptur.
Gangamma, 66, had allegedly kept her daughters Bhagya (38) and Srilakshmi (35) tied up in their thatched hut amid a desolate field, far away from the village. It was only after Bhagya died of malnutrition that the gram panchayat intervened. GP member Chandrashekar said the younger daughter Srilakshmi, who was rescued, was in trauma and pale. She is being rehabilitated at the district hospital here.
However, Gangamma denied the allegations and challenged the rescue team that visited the village on Friday to prove the charges. Police have not filed a case yet. “We have rescued Srilakshmi but cannot file an FIR against her mother as there is no evidence of torture,” said Honnavalli police sub inspector N Lakshmikantha.
Chandrashekar said that since Gangamma was quarrelsome and didn’t allow anyone, including her relatives, near her house, villagers rarely interacted with her. Sarthavalli village has 350 households and a population of about 1,000, he added.
Years ago, Srilakshmi, who had passed SSLC with a first class, and her sister Bhagya used to work in a biscuit factory at neighbouring Annapura village. Slowly Gangamma turned suspicious and believed that her daughters would fall in love with other boys working in the factory.Fearing they would marry outside their Vokkaliga caste, she stopped them from working and allegedly confined them inside the hut, by tying their legs.