Property battles: Woman imprisoned by uncle for over a decade

Safia was locked up by her uncle over property and forced to seek divorce.


Express April 30, 2011

MANDI BAHAUDDIN:


A man imprisoned his niece for over a decade over a property issue.


Miani Police officials said that they recovered a woman who had been locked up for over a decade in her uncle’s house. On Friday, Miani Police raided Mohalla Chalpur and recovered 35-year-old Safia.

Safia told reporters that her uncle Atta Muhammad had detained her after forcing her to get a divorce from her husband.

“I don’t even remember when he locked me up it has been so long. He kept me in a tiny room in the basement and he raped me,” she told the media.

Safia said that she was tortured for so long that she eventually signed the divorce papers thinking that her uncle would then release her from custody. “He didn’t release me and I kept hoping someone would find me,” she said.

Safia’s former husband Abbas said that the accused had detained her to grab hold of her property. “He wanted her inheritance and he had threatened us for it several times.

After he took her I couldn’t find her anywhere. It was like they vanished,” Abbas said. Abbas told reporters that he had approached the police for years but they refused to take the case seriously. “They clearly supported Atta. They didn’t even file my complaint,” he said, adding that he eventually called the media. “I spoke to a reporter who helped me search for my wife’s whereabouts seven months ago,” he said.

Abbas said that he managed to get a lead a few days ago and traced it back to Safia and her uncle’s new house.

“We raided the house and found the girl. She was being held in a basement room and she was clearly malnourished,” said Station House Officer (SHO) Malik Khalid Mehmood, adding that he had been contacted by a reporter with leads on the case. Mehmood said that he had never heard of the case before and that Abbas had registered complaints with the former station in-charge. “I will pursue this case and collect all the evidence we can,” he said.

Safia has now been sent to a Darul Amaan after a medical check up to confirm the rape allegations on her uncle. Her uncle said that he had locked her up because she was mentally unstable. “She was a danger to herself and others that is why I moved her here,” he told police. Safia said that her uncle had told several people about her ‘illness’ before. “I am not mentally ill but if I were it would be his fault for locking me up and abusing me,” she told reporters.

SHO Malik Khalid Mehmood has registered a case and is investigating the matter. Reporters said that they were now examining the documents that Atta had made his niece sign and whether any of the papers had been processed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2011.

COMMENTS (2)

Maulana Diesel | 12 years ago | Reply The uncle will most probably be allowed to walk free because the police would not be able to find any evidence and the supreme court will duly oblige.
Ali Haider | 12 years ago | Reply A bundle of thanks to the reporter that helped the poor soul. Police as usual, first does not register the case and then tries to take credit.
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