KHANPUR — Police rescued a 35-year-old woman Tuesday after discovering she had been held captive in chains by her own brother for 15 years.
Authorities raided a house in the Jaranwala area of Khanpur following a tip-off from neighbors. They found the woman, identified as Razia, locked in a small, windowless room. Her ankles were secured with heavy iron chains, and she was visibly malnourished.
The brother, identified by police as Muhammad Rafiq, was taken into custody at the scene. Initial investigations suggest the confinement began when the woman was 20 years old, following a family dispute over property and her refusal to marry according to her brother’s wishes.
“She was living in conditions that defy human decency,” said a local police official who participated in the operation. “There was no ventilation, no sanitation, and she had clearly been deprived of basic human contact for over a decade.”
Neighbors reported hearing faint cries from the property for years but remained silent, fearing retaliation from the family. The isolation was absolute; the woman had not seen the outside world since 2009.
Medical staff at the local district hospital, where the woman was transferred for emergency care, described her physical state as “frail.” Beyond the immediate physical trauma, doctors are assessing the long-term psychological impact of her decade-and-a-half-long confinement.
Rafiq remains in police custody. Charges of wrongful confinement and physical abuse are being filed, though prosecutors say the investigation is in its early stages as they look into whether other family members were complicit in the abuse.
The case has drawn sharp criticism from local rights groups, who are questioning how such a prolonged crime could go unnoticed by local authorities and the wider community for so long. For now, the focus remains on the victim’s recovery.
