How a Kerala man managed to hide his lover in his room for 10 years

Sajitha was 18 when she left her house to live with her lover Rahman, who was then 24. And for the next ten years, she lived inside Rahman's small room in his tiled house till recently.

The bizarre incident took place at Ayilur, about 30 kilometres from Palakkad town in Kerala.

Rahman and Sajitha, who were neighbours, fell in love. Since their families were from two different communities their wish to get married with the blessings of their families was in vain. Hence, Sajitha decided to leave her house.

Rahman told the police that he took Sajitha to his house and hid her in his room with plans of moving to a rented premises without much delay. In the meantime, Sajitha's family filed a missing complaint. Though Rahman was under suspicion, he behaved normally and hence did not come under detailed probe.

As financial problems delayed Rahman's plans to rent a house, months and years passed. Rahman's parents and siblings were also staying in the house with just three rooms. But Rahman always kept his room locked and even behaved indifferently with family members. He started the habit of taking his food to his room and played television in his room loudly. Sajitha was provided an earphone to watch the TV when she is alone, he said.

Since the room had no bathroom attached, the bars of a window of the room were removed in order to facilitate Sajitha to go out during the night to use the toilet outside the house.

Rahman, who is an electrician, connected a battery-operated motor to the lock of his room to ensure that it always remained locked. A mild electric shock was also given to the lock to prevent someone from opening it. Even though he was behaving abnormally, the family members did not question him.

A few months ago, Rahman went missing from his home and the family filed a missing person complaint. Recently, his brother spotted him in Nenmara, around five kilometres from their house, and alerted the local police over there. The police held Rahman and he revealed his story after interrogation. Rahman and Sajitha were produced before a local court but were released as both of them expressed their desire to stay together.

Deputy Superintendent of Police C R Santosh, who is in charge of the locality, said that since the couple were of legal age, the police did not need to make further enquiries.