File photo of the teen domestic help after she was rescued from the South Delhi home
In October, the story of a 15-year-old girl from Jharkhand, who was rescued by an NGO from South Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, beaten, abused and traumatised by her employer, shocked the city. The employer, Vandana Dhir, a senior executive with a multi-national company, was arrested and the girl sent to hospital with torture marks all over her.
Now, 30 kilometres away from Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, this 15-year-old girl is rebuilding her life, bit by bit.
At Khunti's Mahila Shiksha Kendra, small things like three proper meals a day that once seemed a luxury, are now beginning to seem normal to her.
The girl, originally from Jharkhand's Sahebganj district, was brought to Delhi by her aunty over a year ago.
When she was rescued from Delhi's upscale Vasant Kunj area in October this year, she was lying on the floor, semi-naked, with wounds to her head and gashes all over her body.
Three months later, the physical wounds haven't healed fully, but the girl says she wants to move on from the trauma. After intervention from the NGO Shakti Vahini and the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, she has spent the last month at a hostel in Jharkhand, away from her mother and siblings but happy that her life is stabilising.
"I want to be a teacher. I speak to my mother everyday. She asks me how I am doing and I say I am fine," she said.
"She will be here till March. We will try to bring her into the mainstream. We have a complete package for her. Functional literacy is important and skill development will happen too," said Dr Smita Gupta, State Programme Director, Jharkhand Mahila Samakhya Society, in-charge of the girl's rehabilitation.
The jury may still be out on whether this intervention is enough, but back in Delhi, the NGO who helped rescue the girl say they are trying to build a water-tight case against the employer so that this case can act as a deterrent.
"The media and political pressure made the police take right measures. The chargesheet is ready. Used strict tough acts like bonded labor act and SC/ST act for first time . law is sufficient to deal with such cases," Shakti Vahini Ravi Kant said.