Click to play videoDarbhanga (Bihar): It is a telling story of the plight of mentally handicapped people in India. Not only are they ostracised by the society, but also abandoned by their own.
Twenty-seven-year-old Nikhat Bano has been living on prayers and neighbours' sympathy for the past three months, ever since she was locked up alone in her home by her father.
"I feel very scared of ghosts in the house at night," she mumbles.
Meanwhile, her father Talha Sajjid, a retired Additional District Magistrate, has ostensibly proceeded on a pilgrimage.
Nikhat has been living in the narrow courtyard of the house for the past three months, depending solely on her neighbours for survival.
Her neighbour, M D Ahmad Razza, confirms Sajjid has gone on a pilgrimage.
"There is no way to reach her in case of a problem. She has no way to get out of the house," says Razza.
The district administration also pleads helplessness. They say, they are waiting for the father to return before taking action against him.
"The father will come back in a couple of days and if he does not assume responsibility, we will take action against him," Darbhanga District Magistrate Upendra Sharma.
Nikhat came to live with her father after she divorced from her husband. Her three children now live with their father in Delhi.
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