A suspected human trafficking agent has been arrested by the police in connection with the alleged torture and illegal confinement of a minor domestic help by a doctor couple in their house at Dwarka in south-west Delhi.
The accused has been identified as Mahadev. Investigations have revealed that he had brought the 13-year-old victim from Gumla in Jharkhand to the capital at the instance of one Narain Sahu, who is absconding.
The police are also on the lookout for Mukesh, who worked as a manager at a Punjabi Bagh-based domestic help agency through whom the girl had been employed by the doctor couple, Sanjay and Sumita Verma. The agency owner, Durga, is also absconding. “Some more arrests are likely in the case,” said a police officer.
‘FIR confirms torture'
In a related development, a city court on Friday extended the police custody of the doctor couple by three days, observing that “a perusal of the FIR reveals that the accused persons did indeed subject the victim to a treatment which can be best described as torture”. Mahadev was sent to three days' police custody.
Minor confined
The accused couple were arrested in Rajouri Garden on Wednesday. They had allegedly locked up the girl inside their flat before leaving for Thailand and she remained confined there for six days before non-government organisation Shakti Vahini rescued her in coordination with the police and the Delhi Fire Service. The girl had injury marks on her body, suggesting that she had been tortured.
Couple offer Rs.75,000
During the court hearing on Friday, the accused couple offered to give a compensation of Rs.75,000 to the victim. They have been booked under the Juvenile Justice Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Indian Penal Code.
