Siblings held captive at home rescued in Jharkhand

A woman and her brother allegedly held captive at their home by a doctor and his relative have been rescued by the police in Bokaro.

Superintendent of Police, Karthik S said the 56-year-old woman and her mentally challenged brother were rushed to Bokaro General Hospital immediately after they were rescued on Tuesday.

The siblings, allegedly held captive by an eye-specialist and his relative at the house in Co-operative colony here, were rescued on the basis of a complaint lodged on an emergency number by an unknown person.

A case was also registered in this connection against the doctor and his relative two days ago, he said.

The SP said it was not clear for how many years they were held captive.

After they were rescued, the woman was not found in good health and her brother was found tied to a traction in a cot, he said.

The incident requires a thorough investigation as it has left several questions unanswered -- as to why their neighbours had kept quiet and not informed the police when the siblings were kept in captivity, the SP said.

The woman was an ex-student of St Xavier's School and a school-mate of Jharkhand Additional Director General of Police (Modernization and Training) Anil Palta, who visited the hospital to meet her yesterday.

Currently, the doctor was away from Bokaro and the police were waiting for him to return for recording his statement, he said.

At least 15 organizations including the local MP and MLA have registered a written complaint seeking action against the doctor.

According to the complaint, the siblings' father who was an employee of Bokaro Steel plant, owned the building and the doctor's relative was his tenant, the SP said.

He opened a spectacle store and a clinic in the house in 2001 and the doctor used to practise in the clinic.

Following the landlord's death, the doctor and his relative had stopped paying rent and kept the siblings in captivity in a room on the upper floor of the building with an intention to grab the property, the complainant said.

The siblings did not have any relative but had huge property, the SP said.