Francis Gomes Locks Up His Wife and 3 Daughters for 7 Years in Fear that They Would Be Raped

Mumbai, India: Mumbai Police has registered a case against Francis Gomes, unemployed, on Thursday Sept. 30, 2009 for confining members of his family in their second floor flat in Neelambha, co-operative housing society at Vasai, since 2002. The wife and the three daughters of the 60-year-old man were locked up in their home. They beaten and starved. Gomes and Theresa moved into the flat seven years ago with their daughters.

"Since then, the women have been facing this ordeal," R Gopalakrishnan, member of the NGO Anand Rehabilitation Centre claimed. "But before being arrested he was thrashed by his neighbours."

"After preliminary investigations, we arrested the accused, Francis Gomes, late last night, for causing hurt to the victims and wrongfully confining them," Thane police inspector Ashok Pawar said.

According to Gopalakrishnan, the accused must be suffering from psychological problems, which explains his extreme behavior of forcibly confining his family inside the house in his absence.

Police arrested Gomes on the charges of keeping his wife Theresa and three daughters Elizabeth, Geneviev and Barbara, ages 27, 22 and 21, were confined at their home for seven years. Gomes denied allegations of torturing his family members. His eldest daughter Elizabeth recounted how they were kept chained in the kitchen for almost 7 long years. His wife Theresa in her complaint to the police had said that Gomes would lock them inside the house when he left for work in the morning and would return only in the night. Theresa told the cops that he would leave home every day in the morning after ensuring that the windows were sealed and power was switched off.

"This is a matter between me and my family. My wife had come mental problems. If my wife and daughters had problems, they should have told it to me," Gomes said.

Gomes locked them up as he was convinced that his girls would be raped if they even stepped out of the home. Reports suggest that every morning before leaving his home Francis would lock the door, giving the impression that his family was away. The women were often denied food and fresh clothing. The windows were boarded, denying them sunlight.

Gomes, at one time, hit his youngest daughter, Barbara, so hard that she suffered permanent neck injuries. Her injuries are so bad that she cannot lift her head, so her head in leaned so far forward that she cannot left her chin that rest on her neck. He, however, would take Barbara occasionally to Vasai's Cardinal Gracious Hospital for treatment. "They would sit in the hospital canteen and order vada pav,'' a family acquaintance said. "Theresa and the girls were always dressed shabbily. Their clothes would stink. When asked, Francis would tell me that his wife would not have a bath for days on end. Theresa and her daughters seemed to be too scared of Francis and they hardly spoke,'' the acquaintance added.

A few months ago, Francis' second daughter used the help of an NGO, named Sakhya, to escape the clutches of her father. At the time the others refused to leave fearing that Gomes would hunt them down. While social workers managed to rescue her, the other three women were just too scared to leave, fearing that Francis would successfully hunt them down.

On, Tuesday, social workers belonging to the NGO Anand Rehabilitation Centre police rescued the three women, while Francis was away. Theresa, Elizabeth and Barbara, who had bruises all over the body and are, admitted to Bombay Hospital. They are malnourished and traumatized and are under psychological and medical care. "Theresa and her two daughters are in no condition to speak. We will record their statements after some time," said Pawar.

Mumbai Police has arrested Gomes based on the information given by the locals.