Minor abused by employers in Gurugram: Placement agents arrested

Police said relevant sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act were added to the FIR on Friday as the victim hails from Jharkhand’s Gond tribe, which is a recognised Scheduled Tribe of India. The suspect arrested on Friday was identified as Arun Kumar Turi of Jharkhand. Police said he used to run a placement agency called “Nehru Group services” in Delhi’s Raja Garden

The Gurugram police on Friday arrested a 30-year-old placement agency owner and his 32-year-old partner on charges of human trafficking, after they allegedly placed a 17-year-old girl with a husband and wife couple, who were arrested on Wednesday on charges of assaulting, torturing and sexually harassing the girl at their home in New Colony.

Editorial discretion required : Gurugram, India-February 10, 2023: The mother of 14-year-old domestic help arrives at New Colony police station with Jharkhand police to take his daughter, in Gurugram, India, on Friday, 10 February 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Police said relevant sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act were added to the FIR on Friday as the victim hails from Jharkhand’s Gond tribe, which is a recognised Scheduled Tribe of India.

The suspect arrested on Friday was identified as Arun Kumar Turi of Jharkhand. Police said he used to run a placement agency called “Nehru Group services” in Delhi’s Raja Garden along with partner Manish Nag.

Manoj Kumar, assistant commissioner of police, Udyog Vihar, said during investigation, the suspects revealed that the agency was not a registered one. “ The Gurugram couple paid ₹30,000 as an annual fee to the agency and Turi paid ₹10,000 to Manish to bring the girl from her maternal uncle. Turi was booked for human trafficking in 2014 and 2015 in Jharkhand but was not arrested. He was declared a proclaimed offender by the court,” he said.

Kumar said they have arrested both partners under the human trafficking Act. “We are scanning their bank accounts details to establish their annual turnover. They will.be produced before the court on Saturday and will be taken on police remand for further investigation,” the ACP said.

After arresting the Gurugram-based couple -- Manish Khattar and his wife Kamaljeet Kaur-- on Wednesday, the police also rescued the girl from their apartment in New Colony on the basis of an anonymous tipoff.

Police said after the couple’s pictures and those of the victim were widely shared on social media, both were fired by their respective employers. Kaur is lodged in Bhondsi jail, while Khattar’s police remand got over on Friday and was sent to Bhondsi after being produced before the court, said police.

The victim, meanwhile, revealed shocking details about what she endured to the counsellors.The couple used to beat her mercilessly, gave her no food and used to brand her with hot tongs. There were over 30 injuries all over her body, including burn injuries, said police.

On being apprised about the incident, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren had asked police to bring the girl back to the state and also tweeted that she would be provided treatment, education and rehabilitation there.

A team from an anti-human trafficking unit of Jharkhand Police along with victim’s mother reached Gurugram on Friday and met the victim who is presently undergoing treatment at the civil hospital.

Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), Gurugram, said the girl had several injuries all over body, but her vitals are stable. “There was auricular hematoma near her ear that was drained by doctors,” he said.

Police said the victim’s elder sister was also placed by Turi and she is not traceable. Police are investigating to find her whereabouts.

The mother of victim could not communicate in Hindi and took the help of relatives to communicate with the police. “The victim narrated her five-month ordeal to her mother. The couple used to beat her at night after removing her clothes. There were injury marks on her private parts too,” said Pinki Malik, in-charge of the One Stop Centre Sakhi that helped rescue the girl.

The victim told police that her maternal uncle got her placed with the couple in Delhi through the placement agent for ₹10,000 a month. “She came to Delhi in June and worked for a family in Rajouri Garden for ₹10,000 a month. In September, the Gurugram couple hired her for the same pay but only after she completes a year with them. When she joined, she had ₹1,000 with her and Khattar, allegedly, snatched even that from her,” the police, quoting her recorded statement, said.

Shakti Vahini, an organisation that works in the field of women and child rights, said their Childline team has been in touch with the minor victim since her rescue and will assist the family in legal matters.

Nishi Kant, executive director of the NGO, said they wrote to Gurugram police commissioner requesting that provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, and the human trafficking section under the Indian Penal Code and Bonded Labour Act be added to the FIR.

“There are many victims from Jharkhand who are brought to Delhi-NCR for domestic jobs and are ill-treated and exploited. Many times, they don’t return to their villages and families are too poor or too uneducated to lodge missing person complaints,” he said.

Deepak Saharan, deputy commissioner of police (west), said they are questioning the victim’s uncle, and others to know more about the way girls are brought to Delhi-NCR. “The agents are involved in preparing forged ID cards after alerting the date of birth of minors to show them as majors. More arrests are likely once we complete the investigation,” he said.

Pankaj Kumar, sub-inspector of AHU Jharkhand, said they are waiting for Gurugram police to complete their formalities to return with the victim and her mother. “The victim was living in hell, She told her mother that she used to pick leftover food from the dustbin outside homes as the couple did not provide her any food,” he said.

Kumar also said that the couple used to monitor the victim on CCTV camera after leaving home for work. “If she ever opened the fridge or ate anything from kitchen, they would use hot tongs on her face or disrobe her and injure her on her private parts,” he said.