It was recently reported that there's an increase in domestic violence cases ever since the COVID lockdowns came into effect in 2020. But a spine-chilling incident has come to the fore, wherein a Kochi woman endured brutal torture at the hands of her own partner for several days. After over 20 days, the 27-year-old woman gathered courage and managed to escape after her partner had threatened to kill her. But what went on while she was held captive is beyond comprehension.
The woman, a resident of Kannur, had been in a live-in relationship with 33-year-old Martin Joseph, a share trader, since last year's lockdown. But the continues assault and violence forced her to go back to her home. But Joseph blackmailed the woman and threatened to leak her nude videos if she didn't return. Fearing the worse, the woman came back, but she was tortured, beaten back and blue, robbed, and even forced to drink urine.
"He used to tie me to the bed and hit me with a mop, broom and belt. He used to continuously beat me in the same areas. He has made me drink his urine and water from the toilet, used to pour hot water on top of my bruises and to stop me from sleeping, he used to put chilly powder mixed water in my eyes," the woman recounted her horrors to Mathrubhumi.
Woman escapes fearing for life
When she was threatened to be killed, the victim of extreme torture managed to escape. At that point, she didn't care if the videos were leaked to her family, she just had to save her life. She escaped the apartment with a knife in her hand and went straight to the police station. Fearing she was followed by Joseph, she did not file a complaint then, but came back a month later after gathering courage.
In the FIR, which was registered by Kochi Police on April 8, the woman said she was confined by Martin from February 15 till March 8, during which he tortured her and even took Rs 5 lakh from her. Based on her statement, the police have registered a case against Joseph under various sections of IPC, including 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 344 (Wrongful confinement for ten or more days), 376(Punishment for rape), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), TNM reported after accessing a copy of the FIR.
One month later, no arrest yet
Shockingly, the spine-chilling incident did not speed up the police's efforts to find Joseph. However, when the woman revealed the photos of her grievous injuries on the back, and the incident garnered public attention, the police is acting on it.
"We will investigate and arrest the person very soon," Kochi Police Commissioner Nagaraju CH told TNM, adding that a special team has been set up to nab the accused.
