Gurgaon: US- based doctor duped by Delhi domestic help agency

The help hired by the parents of the US-based doctor, vanished on the first day of her job after agency was paid Rs 17,000 in cash

A US-based doctor was allegedly duped by a domestic help service agency on Thursday, after the help left the job within few hours of getting R17,000 on her first day of work. The doctor’s elderly parents, who reside in Park View City-1 at Sohna Road in Gurgaon, hired a help through a Delhi-based agency.

The help hired by the parents of the US-based doctor, vanished on the first day of her job after agency was paid Rs 17,000 in cash

Dr Charu Dutt Arora said his parents stay in the flat and required a full-time help to help them run the chores. Their previous help left the job recently after getting married.

“My parents, both in their fifties, wanted someone to help them do the chores. They posted a query for a domestic help on a website. After a few days, an agency contacted us and asked for a commission of Rs 26,000 in cash or 35,000 by cheque. They said they will send a help, who has to be paid a monthly salary of Rs 5,500. We agreed,” Dr Arora said.

“The agency sent the help with the required documents. She arrived at our flat on Thursday with another person, who left after pocketing Rs 17,000 in cash. We asked him to take the remaining Rs 9,000 once the police verification of the maid is done. He also handed all the original documents (including a photocopy of the maid’s identity proof). However, within two hours of taking up the job, the maid vanished into thin air,” the doctor said.

As the family could not find the maid, they contacted the society’s guards and also checked the CCTV footage. They found that the help left the society without informing any one.

The doctor’s parents then tried contacting the agency. They claimed though the owner of the agency initially promised to look into the matter and get back to us, he later stopped taking calls and eventually switched off his mobile phone. They also found flaws in the maid’s documents provided by the agency.

Felling helpless, the family contacted the Badshahpur police station. However, they claimed the police weren’t willing to pursue their case. “Till now, no FIR has been registered by the police. They also asked why we didn’t go for police verification before hiring the help,” Dr Arora said.

Parveen Malik, the station house officer (SHO) of Badshahpur Police station, said, “We are looking into the matter and will take required steps in this case.”

As the doctor took to social media to highlight his plight, a resident of Malibu Town who also has house on Sohna Road, said his family had a similar experience as well.

Sandra Chaujer, the Malibu Town resident, said she had hired a help though the same agency and it took
Rs 23,000 from her. However, within a couple of hours of taking the job, the help left. They filed a case in Sadar police station on January 12, but nothing, till date, has been done. The police said they are investigating the case.