Employers held for death of domestic help in Noida high-rise

Noida: A 62-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the death of their 16-year-old domestic help who had allegedly taken

Noida: A 62-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the death of their 16-year-old domestic help who had allegedly taken her own life on January 1 in a high-rise under sector 49 police jurisdiction.

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The arrests came after the deceased’s elder brother filed a complaint with the Noida police alleging that the elderly couple had been harassing her.

The girl was found hanging in her room at the high-rise in Sector 77, the police said, adding that no suicide note was recovered from the spot. When questioned, the couple had said that the girl’s paternal uncle was coming to Noida from Jharkhand to take her back home but she didn’t want to leave and had been upset about it for the past few days, said the police.

In his complaint, the brother said that she had been working there for the past three years and they (the couple) had not allowed her to take any time off to visit us in Jharkhand. “They wouldn’t even let her keep a cellphone and would monitor her when she spoke with us using their phones. She wanted to come back home but they kept on making her work,” said the brother.

Based on his complaint, a case was registered on Monday at sector 49 police station for abetment to suicide (section 306 of the Indian Penal Code).

“A case was registered following the family’s complaint and on Wednesday the couple was apprehended,” said Sudheer Kumar, station house officer, sector 49 police station.

He said that the girl’s body had been handed over to the family for last rites following the autopsy which was videographed.

The suspects were produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail, the police said.

The elderly man is a manager at an MNC and the couple’s son also lived with them though his involvement has not been found in the case, said the police.

Gautam Budh Nagar does not have a dedicated helpline to deal with such situations. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).