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‘Abused, felt suicidal’: Indian student’s ordeal exposes UK politician who kept her as nanny ‘illegally’
Himanshi Gongley told authorities she had been “physically abused” and felt “suicidal” under the conditions she faced in Mir’s home.
A Labour councillor from west London has been fined £40,000 for illegally employing an Indian student as a full-time nanny after a UK court upheld an immigration ruling against her.
The 45-year-old politician, Hina Mir, a qualified solicitor and former deputy mayor of Hounslow, was found to have hired Himanshi Gongley for £1,200 a month in cash, despite the student having no legal right to work in the UK, as reported by UK-based newspaper The Telegraph.
Student alleges abuse
The case escalated after Gongley reportedly flagged down a police car for help in August last year. UK home office officials told the court the 22-year-old appeared distressed and was later found to be in the UK illegally, her visa having expired in March 2023.
She told authorities she had been “physically abused” and felt “suicidal” under the conditions she faced in Mir’s home.
According to the newspaper, Adam Goodchild, an immigration officer, told the court that the student fully understood her visa situation. “She was aware her leave had expired and that is why she was not attending university,” he said, adding that “she told me immediately that she was in the country illegally and that her leave status had been curtailed and expired.”
Long hours, cash payments
The report said that the City of London County Court heard that Mir kept the student “on call 24 hours a day for six days a week” to look after her two children.
A separate report in The Sun quoted Judge Stephen Hellman as saying that Mir's evidence had “inconsistencies”. He added, “the inconsistencies in the appellant’s evidence mean I cannot place much reliance on her evidence as I normally would.”
Mir had claimed the student, whom she nicknamed Ria, was merely a “social visitor” who often stopped by to “play video games, to watch TV and to chill” and occasionally help with household chores.
With her appeal dismissed, Mir must now pay the £40,000 fine along with £3,620 in court costs.
The ruling has triggered political fallout in Hounslow, where Opposition representatives on the local council are now demanding that Mir step down from her post as councillor.
