Locked up, thrashed and branded with cigarettes, seven-year-old domestic help Yasmin was finally rescued by her neighbours on July 15.

But her plight, apparently, failed to move the police. With Yasmin’s employers roaming free three weeks after the rescue, the government has taken the police to task. A probe was ordered after Ranchi’s Child Welfare Committee took up the case.

Motherless Yasmin, a resident of Gaya, had been sent to work at the home of Mohammad Mustafa, a sweet shop owner in Ranchi. Her unsuspecting father, a baker, came to know of her predicament only after she was rescued.

“There were fresh scorch marks on her body. We wonder how despite a strong written complaint, the accused have not been arrested,” said Mahesh Wadhwani, a member of the CWC.