Suspended BJP leader Seema Patra, who is accused of forcing her tribal domestic help to drink urine and clean her home toilet with her tongue, was arrested for torture by the Ranchi Police on Wednesday.
She allegedly kept the maid captive at her residence in the posh Ashok Nagar area of the state capital for years.
Seema was a member of the Working Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) women wing, the Mahila Morcha, and was suspended after a video of the victim narrating her harrowing ordeal went viral on social media.
The victim has been identified as 29-year-old Sunita. In another video, Sunita said she was beaten up ruthlessly with iron rods by her employer.
Seema, the wife of former IAS officer Maheswari Patra, was evading arrest and planning to flee Ranchi.
A team of Argora Police Station took the accused woman into their custody on Wednesday morning. Seema, however, denied the charges and called the allegations “politically motivated”.
“These allegations are false and politically motivated. I have been implicated in a fake case,” she told media persons.
On Tuesday, the Ranchi Police produced the victim before a court where her statement was recorded.
As per media reports, Sunita was saved by Seema’s son Ayushman who told his friend, reportedly a government officer, about the torture meted out to the tribal woman by his family, and asked for help.
The government officer informed the Ranchi Police, which rescued the woman from the Patra residence last week.
The victim has suffered several injuries on her body. In a video, she looks very weak and emaciated, failing to muster enough strength to even speak. She was unable to stand on her own at the time of the rescue. The victim is currently undergoing treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the state capital.
On Tuesday, Governor Ramesh Bais sought a response from DGP Neeraj Sinha asking why no action was taken against the suspended BJP leader.