New Delhi: A six-year-old girl who was routinely neglected, abused and forced into domestic labour by her mentally ill mother in GTB Enclave was rescued following police intervention earlier this month.For two years, residents at Janta Flats reported hearing frequent disturbances from the house, where the mother, a former schoolteacher with untreated psychiatric issues, denied her daughter proper meals, forced her to perform household chores, and locked her outside naked.Early attempts to step in failed due to the woman’s threats of self-harm, prompting local police to tread safely and wait for the right opportunity.

DCP (Shahdara) Rajendra Prasad Meena formed a team under Inspector Brijesh Mishra, SHO of GTB Enclave police station. Police conducted a two-month reconnaissance of the area to verify the allegations. Cops visited the family many times, but the child appeared withdrawn and did not speak ill of her mother, possibly out of fear.A senior police officer said, “Neighbours flooded us with calls and complaints describing continuous verbal abuse that echoed through the building. They reported that the woman routinely threw household pots and cookware out of the flat in fits of rage, often locking her daughter outside completely naked as punishment. At other times, she would leave the apartment altogether, locking the girl inside to fend for herself alone in the dark.”At odd hours in the night, the child would be screamed at, denied basic meals and made to scrub floors and handle chores far beyond her age.Earlier this month, a neighbour managed to record a video of the abuse. “It showed the girl, completely unclothed and visibly malnourished, standing in front of the neighbours while her mother berated her,” the officer said. Armed with this evidence, the GTB Enclave SHO immediately asked Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to intervene.A rescue team, led by two women police officers and CWC officials, entered the unsanitary flat and rescued the girl, who was found in an extremely weak and fragile state after months of deprivation.While the child was sent to CWC for medical evaluation and trauma care, the officers arranged for the mother’s transfer to IHBAS for formal psychiatric treatment. Police are now working to enrol the child in a school while taking regular follow-up of the woman’s health.