Three siblings

Gujarat, Dec 29: Three siblings were rescued nearly after a decade from a dark room where they had been locked up in Rajkot of Gujarat. The three siblings are aged between 30 to 42 years and are well-educated with university degrees. It is said that they are suffering from mental illness.

According to their father, the two brothers and the sister locked themselves up after their mother’s death. But others claimed that their father was superstitious and hid his kin away to protect them from black magic.

All three siblings were discovered after the NGO ‘Saathi Seva Group’ which works for the homeless was tipped off about their condition.

The members of the NGO visited the house in Rajkot’s posh Kishanpara area and broke open the door, they found the room had no access to sunlight, and it was reeking of human faces with stale food and newspapers scattered around.

The siblings are identified as – Amrish Mehta (42), Meghna Mehta (39) and Bhavesh Mehta (30) all found sleeping on the floor. All of them found in a severely malnourished condition with matted hair and long beards.

Their father Naveenbhai Mehta, arrived at his house after the NGO officials revealed that his children have been in such condition since the death of their mother nearly 10 years ago.

The father said that his eldest son Amrish was a practicing lawyer with BA, LLB degrees, while the daughter Meghna (39) is an MA in Psychology. His youngest son Bhavesh has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and was a promising cricket player.

Naveenbhai Mehta said that all three of his children had stopped going out after their mother started keeping ill in 1986. Six years later after she died, they completely shut off from the world and locked themselves in a room.

He said that he used to leave the food outside their room every day. The father also claimed that some people say that some relatives did black magic on them.

Irrespective of the reason for their confinement, the trio needed urgent care, Jalpa Patel of ‘Saathi Seva Group’ said. The NGO official said that the siblings were brought out with the help of the father and have been cleaned, shaved, and clothed in fresh garments.

Patel said they are planning to shift the trio to a place where they can get better food and treatment.