Couple Who Tortured, Abused 17-Year-Old Help In Gurugram, Lose Their Jobs

The Gurugram couple arrested for allegedly torturing and sexually abusing a minor domestic help have been sacked from their jobs, while police began a search on Thursday for the placement agency through which the girl was employed.

The public relations agency for which the woman worked and the insurance company where her husband was employed announced their termination on Twitter.

On Thursday, an official of the Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi also visited the civil hospital to meet the girl, a staffer of the health facility said.

The girl from Ranchi in Jharkhand was hired through a placement agency and the couple made her work and also beat her mercilessly daily, according to the complaint filed by Pinky Malik, the in-charge of the Sakhi centre that along with police rescued the girl.

Several injuries were found on her hands, feet and mouth, police had said after arresting Manish Khattar (36) and his wife Kamaljeet Kaur (34), residents of New Colony here, on Wednesday.

According to the FIR, the girl is 17 years old and not 14 as told by a police officer earlier.

Malik claimed that the couple would not let her sleep in the night and also did not give her food. "Her mouth was completely swollen while injury marks were found everywhere on her body," she said.

According to the FIR, the victim said five months ago, her uncle left her at Khattar's flat where he lives with his wife and daughter.

The victim said she was humiliated and beaten every day, it said. Heated iron tongs were allegedly used on her.

Khattar used to strip her naked and hurt her on her private parts, according to the FIR. The victim said the couple confined her at their house and did not allow her to talk to her family.

The FIR has been registered against the couple under sections 323 (causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The police have invoked POCSO Act's section 12, which pertains to punishment for "sexual harassment".

A team on Thursday conducted searches in Delhi for the placement agency through which the victim is said to have been hired for Rs 10,000 a month, police said.

Khattar, who is in police remand, claimed that he hired the girl five months ago for taking care of his daughter and got in touch with the placement agency online, SHO New Colony police station Inspector Dinkar said. While Khattar is a resident of Gurugram, his wife is a native of Ranchi.

"Our team searched for the agency today in Delhi. The accused also confessed that when the victim made a mistake, he got angry and used to beat her. Further probe is underway," he said.

On Kaur's job termination, the public relations agency tweeted: "We are shocked to learn about the human rights and child abuse allegations against Kamaljeet Kaur." "As an organisation, we respect the Indian legal system and are strictly against any form of human rights abuse. The company has terminated her services with immediate effect," it said.

The insurance company, where Manish Khattar was employed, tweeted that it believes in upholding high levels of ethical and moral conduct at all times. "We have severed the employment of the individual with immediate effect," the company said.

The Jharkhand Chief Minister's Office has urged office of the Haryana chief minister and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to provide support for the girl's rehabilitation.

"Chief Minister Hemant Soren is deeply anguished at this inhuman act of child torture that's come to light. NCPCR & cmohry are kindly requested to take due note of this grave matter with utmost importance and provide necessary support to rehabilitate the girl back to her family" his office tweeted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)