IndiGo derosters pilot over allegations of hiring, torturing minor as domestic help

According to the police, the woman works as a pilot in a private airline while her husband is deployed as a ground staff at another one.

Amid an uproar over the incident of a woman pilot and her husband being thrashed by a mob in Delhi's Dwarka for allegedly torturing and employing a 10-year-old girl as a domestic help, private airline IndiGo on Wednesday said it has derostered the employee from duties and the matter is being investigated.

Media Personnel talking to the relatives of minor domestic help at Sector 8 Dwarka. (Hindustan Times)

Read here: Pilot, airline staffer husband held for torturing minor domestic worker

"We are aware of a video circulating on social media that allegedly involves an individual employed by IndiGo. We are currently investigating the matter. Meanwhile employee has been derostered from official duties," the airline spokesperson said.

In a purported video, the couple could be seen being manhandled by a mob. Some of the women were also slapping and pulling the hair of the accused woman, who was in her uniform.

Poornima was heard apologising while Kaushik was seen shielding her from the agitated mob saying that "she would die...Leave her..". The crowd dispersed after an elderly man intervened.

The couple suspected of committing the crime Kaushik Bagchi (36) and his wife Poornima Bagchi (33) have been arrested under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides for violating the Child Labour Act.

According to the police, the woman works as a pilot in a private airline while her husband is deployed as a ground staff at another one.

Police received information on Wednesday night that a minor domestic help had been ill-treated by her employers in Dwarka, M Harsha Vardhan, the deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka), said.

Local police reached the spot soon after it was found that the 10-year-old girl had been employed as a domestic help by the couple for the last two months.

“The girl has been medically examined. We’ve registered a case against Kaushik Bagchi (36) and his wife Poornima Bagchi (33), under sections 323, 324 and 342 of the IPC, besides Child Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act,” the police officer said.

The victim was employed through one of her relatives, who also works in a nearby house. The relative alleged that the minor girl was often scolded by the couple for not doing the household work properly.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal condemned the incident and said that the strictest action should be taken against such "merciless people" for keeping a minor girl as a domestic servant and brutally torturing her.

Pilot, Husband Slapped, Paraded For Tormenting 10-Year-Old Domestic Help; Couple Held | Watch

"A ten-year-old girl was kept as a domestic servant by a female pilot and her husband in Delhi and was brutally tortured. An answer has been sought from Delhi Police in this matter. Strictest action should be taken against such merciless people," she tweeted.

(With inputs from agencies)