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A video of a woman from Uduma in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, introducing herself as a grown-up daughter imprisoned in her own house, has been circulating online since October 21. A letter of complaint she had addressed to the Superintendent of Police also surfaced, in which she stated that she was paralysed from waist down and had been mistreated by her parents and brother for wanting to marry a Muslim man.
The woman, 35-year-old Sangeetha PV, alleged that police action in her case might be getting delayed because her father, PV Bhaskaran, was an influential political leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
“Don’t I have the right to live freely?” she asks in the video. “I want the world to know my truth. I request the Opposition leader to intervene. I ask the media to come home and find out the truth.”
Following the video’s circulation, Bhaskaran, 73, who is a CPI(M) branch committee member in Kasaragod, held a press conference along with his wife and son. Sangeetha’s minor son was also present on the sidelines.
Bhaskaran denied the allegations and filed a police complaint against Rasheed, an ayurvedic practitioner whom Sangeetha has said she wants to marry. According to Bhaskaran, Rasheed was engaged to treat Sangeetha at home on the advice of a relative, after several earlier treatments had failed to improve her condition.
Sangeetha, who is divorced and has a teenage son, lost the use of her legs after a road accident in September 2023. Following surgery, she underwent treatment at an Ayurveda hospital in Thalassery for 14 months, and then at a physiotherapy centre for another one and a half months. It was after this that Rasheed offered his treatment, four months ago. He initially stayed at Bhaskaran’s house and later asked to shift Sangeetha to his centre.
Sangeetha has said that her family opposed her decision to marry Rasheed. Police records show that Rasheed is already married and has two children, and that his wife has filed a complaint against him for neglecting his family. Sangeetha alleged that her father objected to her relationship because it was inter-religious.
In the video, Sangeetha says that she wanted to marry Rasheed, but that her father, despite being a Communist leader, opposed her inter-religious relationship.
At a press conference on October 22, Bhaskaran denied the allegations and said he would have been happy with their relationship if Rasheed had not been married with two children. Police records show that Rasheed’s wife has also filed a police complaint against him for allegedly neglecting his family.
“I am a Communist, I have been a member of the party since I was 18. I don't look at caste or religion. But I am deeply hurt that my own daughter was made to say I am communal,” Bhaskaran said.
However, he admitted that Sangeetha’s phone had been taken away, saying the family was surprised she managed to record the video using another device. Bhaskaran alleged that Rasheed might have handed the phone to her secretly through a window. “His intention is to get the insurance money that my daughter will receive [for her accident],” he said.
Bhaskaran said that Rasheed’s wife had also accused him of seeking Sangeetha’s money. He added that he had met Rasheed’s parents, who, he said, had been supportive.
According to Bhaskaran, the family has spent about Rs 52 lakh on Sangeetha’s treatment, using personal savings as well as money borrowed from friends and relatives. He said Rasheed had received more than Rs 4.75 lakh for treating her for a few months. “He had claimed that he would return the money if she was not cured in three months,” Bhaskaran said.
Sangeetha, in her complaint, alleged that her family intended to “put her into a coma” so they could claim her insurance money, and that they had taken her divorce settlement and gold.
In addition to her complaints to the police, Sangeetha’s friend Arjun filed a habeas corpus writ petition in the Kerala High Court, demanding her presence. On August 11, the court allowed the petition’s withdrawal and described Arjun’s conduct as “confutative.”
“We have a legitimate suspicion that he was acting for somebody else, and whenever we asked him to prove his bona fides – including through the order dated 07.08.2025 - he refused to comply,” the High Court said.
The court noted submissions from Bhaskaran’s counsel, PK Subhash, who said “the entire issue has been raised by a person called Rasheed, who has been named by the police also, and that his client and his family fear him.” The Chanderi police station has been directed to ensure the family’s protection.