PALAKKAD: The incident in which a youth had his lover live in a small room in his house at Karakattuparambu in Ayilur near Nenmara here for 10 years was not only unprecedented, but also unbelievable, the Kerala Women’s Commission (KWC) said on Tuesday. KWC chairperson MC Josephine, who, along with members Shiji Sivaji and Shahida Kamal visited the rented house of Rahman and Sajitha at Vithunassery, also said even if Rahman took great care of Sajitha, the fact was she was denied freedom.
“This is the first such incident of its kind in Kerala,” Josephine told reporters. “The duo was not willing to disclose the hardships they experienced during the decade, but said they were happy,” she said. The fact that a woman had to wait till night to perform her daily ablutions was what the commission took seriously.
“It is unbelievable that the woman lived safely in a tiny room for 10 years. We feel such wrong messages and actions should not be encouraged. The police too did not do their job seriously 10 years ago when Sajitha’s family filed a missing complaint,” said Josephine.
Shiji said, “The duo told us that was poverty and opposition from families led them to live in a room for 10 years. The commission needs to allay people’s concerns and this was why we visited the duo.”While there is nothing wrong in loving a person and living together, Rahman’s method was unacceptable and should neither be eulogized nor encouraged, Shiji said.
The KWC said it will monitor the duo’s future course of action. It said the Crime Branch inquiry into the incident was on. The commission members also visited Rahman’s parents and took their statements.
Meanwhile, the police, which submitted a report on the incident to the KWC, said Rahman and Sajitha’s claims appeared genuine.
After Rahman, who had gone missing from his house three months ago, was found, the police had brought him and Sajitha to the house at Karakattuparambu for evidence collection. They also recorded detailed statements of the parents of Rahman and Sajitha. The police found that Sajitha knew about everything important going on in the house, including the candidates who came seeking votes for the recent assembly elections. Contradicting the claims of Rahman’s father who said work on the room’s roof was done some time ago and no one was in the room at the time, Sajitha said she was indeed in the room. She even named the workers who undertook the work.
Sajitha also showed the police how she would leave the room and return through the window after removing its wooden bars. The couple had told the police that it did not seek refuge anywhere. Sajitha said she watched the television to pass time. All these facts were included in the report by the police. Sajitha said the couple had urged the KWC to get the case against them withdrawn. The members replied they will consider the request. Rahman said they should be allowed to live peacefully. The police report said Sajitha was 18 years old when she went missing in February 2010.