Minor who witnessed torture gets protection

A 17-year-old minor domestic help, who was also tortured by MP Dhananjay Singh’s wife Jagriti along with 35-year-old Rakhi Bhadra, has been provided security cover.

A 17-year-old minor domestic help, who was also tortured by MP Dhananjay Singh’s wife Jagriti along with 35-year-old Rakhi Bhadra, has been provided security cover.

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The boy, who claimed a threat to his life, was produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Mayur Vihar on Wednesday by the police.

Singh, a Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, and his wife Jagriti Singh were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly torturing to death Rakhi and abusing another domestic help, a minor.

The minor, a native of Varanasi who had been working in the MP’s house since December 2012, has been kept at a government’s shelter home in east Delhi. “Being the main eyewitness to the whole incident, we wanted a safe accommodation for him. While giving his statement, he has expressed the fear of getting beaten up by the MP’s men. Since he is a minor, we consulted the CWC that sent him to the shelter home,” a senior police officer said.

The boy told the police that the MP’s wife used to beat him too.

“He has injury marks on his body, including his neck and chest. A medical examination of the boy was conducted and submitted before the CWC,” the officer added.

According to sources in the police, the CWC directed the shelter home authority to not allow anyone to meet the boy keeping in mind the threat perception. His family members had been informed.

“We are trying to get his birth certificate to confirm whether or not he is a minor. This will help our case against the MP and his wife as they had employed a minor for domestic help and were torturing him,” the police officer added.