NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident that took place on Wednesday morning, a couple working in the airline industry was brutally attacked by a furious mob in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka area. The mob accused them of torturing a minor girl who had been employed as a domestic help in their house.
The couple, identified as Kaushik Bagchi, 36, a ground staff employee at a private airline, and his wife Poornima Bagchi, 33, a pilot with another airline in Sector 9 Dwarka, had hired the minor girl two months ago with the assistance of another domestic help from the same locality. The young girl was made to work at their residence round the clock.
According to neighbours, the couple frequently engaged in acts of assault against the domestic help. Disturbingly, they allegedly subjected her to burns with an iron and confined her for several days. On Wednesday, the girl managed to escape and immediately informed her nearby relatives about the ordeal.
Visible marks and scars were evident on the girl’s face and body, further substantiating the claims of mistreatment. Outraged by the situation, the girl’s relatives, along with neighbours and other domestic helpers, gathered outside the couple’s house and protested against the couple’s actions.
Driven by anger, some individuals pulled the couple out of their house and subjected them to severe beatings. Despite the couple’s pleas for forgiveness, the angry relatives of the girl eventually contacted the local police and handed the couple over to them.
DCP (Dwarka) Harsh Varshan provided insight into the incident, stating, “The matter came to our attention around 9 am when we received information at Dwarka South Police Station regarding the mistreatment of a child domestic help.”
“It was discovered that a 10-year-old girl had been employed as a domestic help by the couple for the past two months. She was allegedly beaten by them. A relative of the girl noticed the situation, leading to a crowd gathering at the couple’s residence and confronting them physically,” DCP Varshan added.
Following the incident, the victimised girl underwent a medical examination, and her parents lodged a complaint. The police have registered a case under sections 323, 324, 342 of the IPC, the Child Labour Act, and the 75JJ Act. Consequently, the couple has been arrested by the police.
It has been reported that the girl’s parents have gone to their relatives in Bihar. The police are conducting an investigation to ascertain the circumstances under which the minor girl was hired for the job of domestic help, an act that is deemed entirely illegal in India.