By IANS,
Patna : A brother and a sister, who locked themselves up in their home for nearly two years after being abandoned by their parents, were rescued in the Bihar capital in a state of depression and severe malnutrition, police said Tuesday.
In an incident similar to the rescue of two sisters in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida last month, Babu, 32, and his sister Sujata, 28, were rescued by an NGO Prayas with the help of Patna police Monday night.
According to police, the two siblings, whose father was an additional district magistrate, were malnourished and very weak when they were rescued from their Shivpuri home near S.K. Puri in Patna.
Sujata, who was in a state of acute depression, was admitted to a mental hospital while her brother was taken to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
“It is the first such case in Patna. The two were confined to their home for nearly two years,” Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Kumar said.
Suman Lal, head of Prayas who played the main role in the rescue, said that Babu and Sujata went into self-imposed isolation after a series of family and personal tragedies.
Their father Braj Kishore Singh left home over two decades ago and never returned. Later, their mother also disappeared a few years back, a police official said.
Babu and Sujata had a younger brother who died two years ago.
Thereafter, the two completely shut out the world and locked themselves up in their home.
They went without food and water for weeks and were surviving on biscuits and snacks provided by neighbours, said the official.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has directed officials to take care of the brother and sister.
He also ordered a probe into the incident.
Suman Lal said the incident exploded the myth that such incidents happen only in big cities like New Delhi and Mumbai.
“It may be new to Patna, but the government and the society have to be alert to prevent such things happening,” Lal said.
The rescue of the Noida sisters – Anuradha Behl, 41, and Sonali Behl, 38 – from their home under similar situation had made big news.
The two well educated sisters, daughters of a former army officer, had locked themselves up in their home for over seven months after the death of their parents.
They were finally rescued by the police and the residents welfare association and admitted to hospital.
Anuradha later died due to multiple organ failure following extreme malnutrition while Sonali continued to be under treatment.