Kakinada: Covid fear forces mother-daughter to lock themselves up for 3 years; rescued

Kakinada: A mother-daughter duo has been rescued three years after they locked themselves up in a room fearing COVID-19. When the pandemic began in March 2020, 46-year-old woman Mani and her 21-year-old daughter Durga Bhavani locked themselves in their house at Kuyuru village in Kajuluru Mandal of Kakinada district.

It all started when Suri Babu, head of the family working as a vegetable vendor, asked his wife and daughter to wear masks and stay indoors to avoid contracting infection. When the mother-daughter heard about COVID deaths, they locked themselves in a room and have not come out since then. They have stopped talking to their relatives also.

Suri Babu used to make food for both of them. However, for the last four months, they refused to see Babu and asked him to move out of the house.

Suri Babu then stayed in another house and kept food at the window daily. When they did not eat food for weeks, Suri Babu informed the local authorities who broke into and saw them in the corner of a room. After hours of persuasion, the health officials could shift them to Kakinada Government General Hospital.

According to District Medical and Health Officer Dr. M Santhi Prabha, "The mother-daughter has been suffering from anxiety disorder. They have been getting treatment for many years. They are currently being given therapy and psychiatric counseling. When the police spoke to Durga, she said somebody was doing black magic to kill their family. She said they killed one boy and threatened to kill me.

This is not an isolated case. A similar case was reported in Anantapur a few months back. Three siblings had locked themselves up since the first COVID-19 lockdown,