Locked-up minor help case: couple rude, aloof say neighbours

Residents of Hahnemann Apartment in sector 6 of Dwarka expressed little shock at the behaviour of the doctor couple, who had allegedly locked their domestic help inside their house before going to Thailand on a holiday. Faizan Haider reports.

Residents of Hahnemann Apartment in sector 6 of Dwarka expressed little shock at the behaviour of the doctor couple, who had allegedly locked their domestic help inside their house before going to Thailand on a holiday.

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From neighbours to guards, hardly anyone was in touch with the couple, who had been living in there for over 10 years.

Dr Sanjay and Sunita Verma, who have been living on the same floor for the past three years, claimed they had never spoken to them.

"We would just see them leaving for work. We never even said hello to each other. Most society members have the same experience with them," Sunita said.

Another neighbour of the couple said his son had seen the couple dragging the help by her hair. “They never interacted with other residents,” he said.

Even the society guard said that the couple was rude. “They would scream at me if I took some time in opening the gate,” the guard said.

It was another domestic help working in the society who came to the rescue of the 13-year-old when she saw her screaming on Thursday morning.

“At 11am on Thursday, she (13-yr-old help) called me from her balcony and said she had not eaten anything and had a headache. I called an NGO that I knew about,” said Rajkumari.

Rajkumari claimed the couple’s previous help had run off after being tortured by them. This was also mentioned by the victim in her statement before the magistrate.

"I met a girl at the placement agency in Punjabi Bagh who was working with this couple earlier. She had told me that her employer used to beat her and did not give her enough food. I did not know that the placement agency owner would send me to the same couple," the 13-year-old girl told the police.