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At around 9 am on Tuesday, 21 February, a 36-year-old woman stepped out of her apartment in Gurugram. Dressed in a green kurta, and an N-95 mask that was tightly wound around her face and nose, she locked her house, checked it once again.
A team of officials from the Gurugram Police, psychiatrists, and Child Welfare Committee officials, were at her doorstep, ushering her into a van and towards Civil Hospital. A few other members of the team had a task at hand.
As they broke open the lock of her house, her 10-year-old son came rushing towards them. Like the woman, he too was well-dressed, and looked physically fit. But the disturbing visuals from the house told another story.
For over 30 months, the mother-son duo, lived in confinement in their apartment, over 'fear of COVID,' before her husband sought help from Gurugram Police.
"She was anxious about her son, who was diagnosed with asthma when he was younger catching the novel coronavirus infection – and decided that strictest of lockdown was the only way to 'keep her son healthy,'" Jaswant Singh, Inspector, Chakkarpur Police Station, located near the woman's house told FIT.
The Gurugram Police were first alerted by the husband, an engineer by profession, over the weekend. At first, the cops thought it was a 'marital issue.'
"We first tried video calling her from her husband's phone. She was resistant, but as we spoke to her, we understood that it was not marital dispute but a medical condition. We involved other experts as well, since this was a crucial rescue," Singh said.
The cops then gathered a team of people – from psychiatrists, experts from the Child Welfare Committee, and medical officers who can aid in the rescue – to devise a counselling and rescue plan.
Praveen Kumar, the investigating officer in the case, told FIT:
“After the first day, she did not respond well. We told her that the husband is alleging that she had some medical condition and if she wants to take care of her son, se has to prove him wrong. Only then, she agreed to step out," Kumar told FIT.
"The mother has been very distressed about the news of COVID-19. She had also told the boy to take necessary precautions, but with ample counselling, they both will become better soon," the medical officer added, recalling how the boy refused to remove his mask for medical test.
According to officials, the child was healthy for a 10-year-old, and was well-fed and taken care of.
While the father had taken special permission from his school for him to take online classes, he could not take any tests or examinations.
According to Gurugram Police:
The woman started using induction stove for cooking after the two cylinders were exhausted.
She would also reportedly order only packed food items that could be washed in soap.
The husband, an engineer in a private firm, had to take another accommodation on rent nearby – and would keep in touch with is wife and son over video calls.
"He had stepped out for work after the initial lockdown restrictions were lifted. But she did not let him in after that. He waited for this long thinking that she will soon get better," an official who was a part of rescuing team told FIT.
The woman has been taken to Rohtak for further counselling and treatment, while the child is undergoing medical tests in Gurugram.
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Published: 23 Feb 2023,02:53 PM IST