A woman has been rescued after her husband locked her in their toilet for one-and-a-half years in India.

The 35-year-old, who was kept in a 3ft by 3ft lavatory for the past 18 months, was rescued by police and welfare officers in the village of Panipat, a city north of Delhi, on Tuesday.

The woman’s husband, Naresh Kumar, has been arrested by local police on suspicion of locking her away.

The 35-year-old, who was kept in a 3ft by 3ft lavatory for the past 18 months, was rescued by police and welfare officers in the village of Panipat, a city north of Delhi, on Tuesday.

The woman’s husband, Naresh Kumar, has been arrested by local police on suspicion of locking her away.

The mother-of-three was forced to live in subhuman conditions with her husband allegedly denying her food or water for days at a time, according to local media.

Locals tipped off the district’s women’s’ protection officer, Rajni Gupta, who alerted police and travelled with them to the latrine, which was on the side of their house.

On arrival they found the woman lying on the floor of the toilet.

‘She was so weak that she could not even walk,’ Gupta told the Hindustan Times. ‘She ate eight chapattis when we gave her food’.