Viral photos of teen help, tortured, lead to Gurugram couple’s arrest

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

Gurugram, Feb 08, 2023: A 13-year-old domestic help was rescued from her employer’s house in Gurugram late last evening - where she suffered horrific abuse over the last few months, the police said.

 

The girl, who is from Jharkhand, was found with wounds all over her body, officials said, adding she has been admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Doctors are also conducting her medical examination to ascertain if she was sexually assaulted, it’s learnt.

 

This 14 yr old girl has been brutally beaten up by an educated couple in Gurgaon. No body part that’s not tortured. They cut her, beat her, burnt her with chimta. She had to eat food from dustbin. She was rescued after i raised an SOS & approached @PreetiBDalal@cmohry @NCPCR_ pic.twitter.com/qiWYTOwnxe

— Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) February 7, 2023

The girl was allegedly beaten with hot tongs and sticks by the couple, sources said. Initial investigation suggests the couple would starve and thrash the girl accusing her of "not working properly" and stealing food.

"She was not given food for days. The teen used to eat leftover food from the dustbin," an official said.

The girl was rescued by the police following a complaint filed by a Gurugram-based NGO. The NGO contacted police after a Twitter thread on the girl’s condition by an activist went viral yesterday.

The photographs shared by activist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj show the girl with bruises and burn injuries on her forehead, lips, cheeks and arms.

She was hired by the couple last year through a placement agency to take care of their three-month-old daughter.
 
The couple has been arrested and a case registered under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences or POCSO Act among other charges.

The girl’s photographs, which are in wide circulation on social media now, have evoked strong reactions. Sources say the arrested woman has been sacked by the organisation she worked for.