A mother and her ten year-old daughter, Padmasha, were rescued after being locked up in a house in Chennai for over three years as punishment all because she refused to abort her pregnancy on demands from her husband’s family. Locked up in a small room in a Perungalathur apartment, not only were they sometimes holed up in a toilet in the house, they were also ill-treated and starved by the woman’s in-laws, reported The Times of India. In 2004, Priyanka, a BA Bed, married to Rameshwar Rao, aged 40 working in Telangana. According to reports, the issue began when Priyanka became pregnant and refused to terminate the pregnancy when her in-laws found out that it was a girl child. Despite objections, she went ahead with the pregnancy. About five years later, when Rameshwar Rao pushed for a divorce, the couple then reconciled following marriage counselling. It was after this that the couple moved to Chennai where Priyanka gave birth to a boy.According to Priyanka, trouble began when her husband’s mother and brother moved in with them at their Chennai residence. Following this she was prevented from venturing out or allowed access to the phone, reported New Indian Express. She alleged that her daughter was locked up in a toilet, whereas her son was taken care off and sent to school. Physically-abused, stripped and locked up, Padmasha, survived on a daily allocation of two idlis, said the report. It was only when Priyanka’s father came in search of her after her distress call that she was rescued with the help of a neighbour. A case under IPC Section 498A and 506 and Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 1998 has been filed against Rao. However, no arrests have been made after requests from Priyanka and her family, said the report. Read Kerala media is creating a dangerously false anti-migrant narrative Read Bengaluru play school shuts after parent's accusal of allowing watchman to take her child to toilet