Fearing rape,man ‘locked’ wife,daughters for 7 yrs

Gomes has denied the allegations.

“The women were often denied food and fresh clothes and the windows had been boarded to prevent sunlight from filtering in. Apart from that,the women of the house were also prohibited from watching television in the belief that their thinking would get corrupted by it,” said Assistant Sub-Inspector S S Pawar from Manikpur Police Station.

The family was finally rescued when a local NGO came to know about the confinement and,with the help of the police,broke into the house.

“The women looked very malnourished due to lack of healthy food and shielded their eyes in sunlight,apparently the result of being kept locked indoors for a long period of time,” said Pawar.

In their statement to the police,the daughters have said Gomes often hit them,and once assaulted the youngest one so severely that she suffered severe injuries on her neck.

Gopalkrishnan,the social worker who arranged the rescue,said: “I got to know about their plight from the local church authorities who had suspicions about the confinement. I approached the police and helped rescue the women,who have been kept in a safe place now. Gomes’s wife was unwilling to register an FIR in the case so I took the responsibility of being the complainant and Gomes has been arrested.”

Gomes has been charged with causing hurt and wrongful confinement and will be produced before a local magistrate on Thursday. The police are recording the statements of his wife and daughters.