Hemavathi not yet ready to give statement

Although the health of Hemavathi, the woman who was rescued from an alleged four-year confinement by her family, is gradually improving, she is still not in a position to give her statement to the police.

Doctors at Nimhans, where she is recuperating, said the police had written to the hospital’s Department of Psychiatry seeking permission to record her statement. “However, the police and the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) have been told that she is still not in a position to give a statement,” hospital Medical Superintendent V.L. Sateesh said.

“As part of the investigations, we have to record her statement to ascertain the nature of harassment and the reason [for it]. This would help us book offence under the appropriate section,” a police officer said. On Friday, a team of police officials from Malleswaram visited Nimhans to record the statement and returned empty handed.

Meanwhile, doctors, who got an old medical record of Ms. Hemavathi from her parents, said they could not conclude that she had a psychiatry problem based on the report. “We will be able to comment on her mental health only after our detailed evaluation, which will take a few more days,” he said.

The orthopaedic evaluation revealed that Ms. Hemavathi’s joint problems were not because of an orthopaedic abnormality but primarily because she had adopted a particular posture for a long time. This means she had not been using her muscles adequately,” another doctor said. Earlier, doctors had diagnosed her to be severely malnourished and anaemic.

Earlier, the KSHRC had swung into action and taken up a suo motu case, directing senior police officials to conduct a detailed investigation and submit a report.