Man who locked up wife and kid still at large

Chennai: Nearly a month after the city police rescued a 32-year-old woman and 10-year-old daughter after they were allegedly confined to a flat in Perungalathur by her husband for three years, the Tambaram all woman police station on Wednesday said that they are still looking for the man. The woman’s father from Warangal, Telangana said that Chennai police has not bothered to contact them after the incident and added that his daughter and granddaughter are still in a state of shock.

The woman, Priyanka and her 10-year-old daughter were rescued from the apartment where they were allegedly chained and made to starve with little food for nearly three years by none other than her husband Rameshwar Rao, a test tool supervisor in an IT firm. While Rameshwar Rao is still on the run, police made no headway in the case. Priyanka and her daughter, being treated at her parents’ home in Warangal, are still to recover from the trauma of the torture they suffered.

Speaking to DC over phone, Priyanka’s mother Vasantha described her accused son-in-law as ‘monster’ and said he should be given stringent punishment for the ghastly crime committed. “My granddaughter lost strength in her legs and is struggling to stand on her feet. Doctors say it would take years for her become normal. Both of them are just having curd rice because their bodies are unable tolerate spicy food due to years of near-starvation”.

“My daughter was house arrested and was not allowed to attend her brother’s marriage. We didn’t know what was happening. If that brute (son-in-law) hated them so much, he should have left them with us,” who now regrets that “her daughter was given in marriage to such a sick person”. Priyanka’s father Rajanarayana said there was no communication from the police, except that the case was registered with all women’s police station.

“We are told he is still absconding. Since we can’t travel to Chennai often, we are planning to file a case in Warangal after his whereabouts are known”. Priyanka’s six-year-old son Hemant is living with parents of Rameshwar Rao. Her husband wanted Priyanka to abort their first child when scanning report indicated that she was carrying a girl child.

Since her refusal, Rameshwar sought a divorce after his wife gave birth to a girl child. But both families convinced the couple to live together and four years later, Hemant was born. After that Priyanka and her daughter were locked up in the room with no external contact. Only after Priyanka sought help from father through a neighbour, Rajanarayana came to Chennai and lodged a complaint with the police.