Housewife flees home to 'end' life, local club rescues
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 02 2014 : Notwithstanding the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, reports are galore about domestic violence of different forms and degrees, sometimes including murder in different parts of the country.

Khumanthem (N) Thokchom (O) Pabi (27) is one of the many victims of domestic violence.

Now nine months pregnant, Pabi is already a mother of a two year old son.

She was allegedly subjected severe forms of harassment by her husband Thokchom Noren (28) and father-in-law Th Ibohal for the last 7/8 months.

Even though Pabi is in the advanced stage of pregnancy, she was allegedly strangulated four times and kicked repeatedly on the abdomen.

She was not even allowed to sleep inside the house.

Once when Pabi was sleeping with her son, her father-in-law came into her room with his clothes pulled up.

And again, when she was having her meal, the her rice plate was snatched and thrown away.

She was scold-ed and asked to go back to her paternal home.

Unable to bear all these extreme harassments, Pabi left her in-law's home this morning with an intention to end her life.

Luckily, some volunteers of the Social Action Development Organisation, Heirok came across Pabi as she came out from her husband's home located at Heirok Heituppokpi Part I and thus she was rescued.

Narrating her bitter experience to media persons at Manipur Press Club this afternoon, Pabi said that she was bearing all the atrocities of both her husband and father-in-law all these years with the hope that they may come to their senses and shower their affection one day.

All the while, Pabi was told by her parents to bear the atrocities as long as she can.

Thokchom Noren and Khumanthem Pabi's wedlock was a case of love marriage.

During the initial years, Pabi was given all the care and love by her husband.

Many valuables including jewellery items and even furniture items given in dowry were sold off to meet the family's requirements.

Noren and his father Ibohal built a brick house and as the house was about to be completed, Pabi was told that she did not deserve a brick/concrete house.

Illiterate and ugly woman like Pabi would not be allowed to live in the house, Pabi was told.

She was asked to leave the house every now and then.

Unable to bear the continuous harassment, Pabi made a complaint to Heirok Part I Gram Panchayat Pradhan Sai-khom Mantri.

Accordingly, the Pradhan advised Noren and Ibohal to stop harassment of Pabi but they did not pay any heed.

"Even though my son was very healthy at the time of birth, he is now suffering from malnutrition.

Even today, he cannot walk or speak clearly", Pabi said.

Saying that she would lodge a complaint with police today itself, Social Action Development Organisation member Mandir said that Noren works as a salesman in a computer software store of Khwairamband Keithel.

Ibohal too earns and he lives in a rented house near 2nd MR complex together with his wife.

Saying that Ibohal's family has little financial difficulties, Mandir remarked that their conduct is abhorring and inhuman.

They deserve punishment according to law.

Pabi's parents rued that their advice to stay and bear all the atrocities as long as she can in her husband's home could prove to be tragic.

Maintaining that she did not like to go back to her husband's home, Pabi appealed to the authority concerned to take up punitive legal actions against her husband and father-in-law.

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