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Domestic help held after cam footage shows her torturing 10-month-old girl in Bengal
The child’s mother now apprehends that this is not the first time that the maid has tortured her child. She alleged that a few days ago when she spotted blisters on her daughter’s foot, the maid told her that some steaming-hot food had accidentally fallen on the child’s foot.
A 50-year-old maid was arrested after app-cam footage showed her torturing the 10-month-old girl of her employer at East Midnapore district in West Bengal late on Friday.
The child’s father Debasish Das is a doctor and is attached to a state-run hospital in Bankura district, while her mother Nabamita Bhattacharya is the district manager of public health in East Midnapore.
“Both of us are healthcare workers and we are very busy these days because of the Covid-19 situation. On Thursday, when my husband turned the app-cam on from his office to see our daughter live on the cam, he was shocked to see the maid beating our daughter. She held her by her leg and tossed her on the bed as the child cried and screamed,” said Bhattacharya who lodged a complaint with the Panskura police station.
Police arrested the maid Kalpana Sen on Friday night. She was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act including voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation. Hindustan Times could not check the authenticity of the video shared by the child’s parents.
“We have received a complaint from the child’s mother in which she has alleged that the child was tortured. We have arrested the woman. An investigation has been started,” said a senior police officer of the local police station.
Bhattacharya now apprehends that this is not the first time that the maid has tortured her child. She alleged that a few days ago when she spotted blisters on her daughter’s foot, the maid told her that some steaming-hot food had accidentally fallen on the child’s foot.
“We don’t have CCTV installed at home. We had installed an app-cam because we sometimes put it on to see live on cam what the child was doing. We don’t have past recordings. Luckily on Thursday when my husband switched on the cam, the incident was happening and he saw it. He started recording it to gather evidence. I apprehend that this is not the first time she has tortured the child,” said Bhattacharya.
She also said that when she confronted the maid with the evidence after coming back home from duty on Thursday, the maid told her that she was playing with the child.
“We consulted a doctor. The doctor advised that the child’s heath should be monitored over the next few days. If she vomits then it should be taken seriously. Also, the doctor said that we could consult a psychologist if the child behaves abnormally,” said Bhattacharya.
