Woman locks self, son for 3 years at home due to Covid fear

In a bizarre incident reported from India, a woman locked herself and her 10-year-old son in their home for three years in the fear that they might contract Covid-19.

Her husband, Suran Manjhi, had to reach out to the local police to convince his wife, Munmun Manjhi, to step out of their house in Gurugram city near India's capital New Delhi.

The police went to their house along with teams of local health officials and members of the child welfare department on Tuesday.

They had to break open the doors of the house to rescue the duo. The photos and videos from the house that have now gone viral on social media show the house in quite a distressing condition.

Piles of clothes, hair, empty grocery packets were all lying on the floor and layers of dust had accumulated on all appliances.

"It was very difficult to convince my wife to get herself and my son out as she feared both would contract Covid. Whenever she came out, I would accompany her to the nearby market and she would buy several things at once," her husband, Suran, told the Indian Express.

According to local media reports, the woman used to cut her son's hair on her own. She did not even throw the garbage out for the last three years.

What's worse, she did not allow her husband to enter the house. He would visit his family only to drop off groceries and essentials outside the house. The family stayed connected through video calls.

He explained how he was not allowed back in the house after he stepped out to work after the government removed the restrictions imposed to curb the highly infectious virus. He had to rent another apartment after his wife just refused to listen to him. The woman had probably become paranoid.

"The woman has psychological issues. Both of them have been referred to PGI, Rohtak. They have been admitted to the psychiatric ward for treatment," Dr. Virender Yadav, Gurgaon Civil Surgeon, told NDTV.

The woman and her son were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the authorities managed to rescue them.

"I couldn't hold back tears when I first held my son after three years. I kissed his forehead and promised him our family will be back together like before," said Suran.

The boy was 7 years old when he last met his father. He did not see anyone but his mother in the last three years. The mother and son are now undergoing treatment at the local hospital, per a report in The Independent.