In a shocking case of unlawful confinement, the Bhokardan police in Jalna district rescued a young woman and her three-year-old child who had been chained and imprisoned by her parents for the past two months. The rescue operation took place on February 3, following the directives of the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, which intervened after the victim’s husband filed a complaint.
According to officials, the woman, identified as Shahnaz, also known as Sonal, was found locked inside a house in Alapur, a remote village in Bhokardan tehsil. She and her young son had been confined in a room with their ankles chained, reportedly as a result of her family’s disapproval of her interfaith marriage.
Shahnaz, who is in her twenties, had married a 25-year-old Dalit man in 2020. Their marriage was legally registered, and they later had a child together. However, her parents strongly opposed the union. Sub-Inspector B.T. Sahane, who was involved in the rescue operation, provided details of the harrowing ordeal:
“The couple had an interfaith marriage registered in a court of law. The woman’s mother used to visit them in Aurangabad and last year convinced them to visit their Alapur village, claiming that the family had accepted their marriage. However, upon their arrival, the husband was brutally beaten and thrown out of the house, while the woman and her child were forcibly detained, chained, and locked in a room.”
After being expelled from the house, the husband made several attempts to reach his wife and child but was repeatedly denied access. With no alternative, he approached the local police station and later petitioned the Bombay High Court for intervention. Following the court’s directive, police teams conducted two raids in January to locate the missing woman and child but were unsuccessful.
Eventually, police managed to persuade the woman’s brother to reveal their whereabouts. Acting on this tip, officers disguised in civilian clothes raided the house on January 29. Upon entering, they found Shahnaz and her child shackled inside a locked room.
“When we attempted to rescue them, the parents got into a violent altercation with us, unaware that we were law enforcement officers,” said Sub-Inspector Sahane.
Following the rescue, Shahnaz and her son were immediately presented before the court, where a government attorney facilitated their release into the custody of her husband. Authorities stated that an FIR (First Information Report) would be lodged based on Shahnaz’s willingness to press charges against her parents.
“We are expecting to register an FIR only if the victim wishes to do so. She has been advised to visit the police station on February 5,” Sahane added.
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