Mahagun Moderne violence: Domestic helps went on strike three months ago

Residents faced a riot-like situation on Wednesday morning when a mob stormed into the society premises and vandalised Harshu Sethi’s house.

The tiff between the domestic helps and residents of Mahagun Moderne society is not new as the domestic helps held a small protest three months ago seeking better wages. However, some of the helps had refused to take part in the strike and it fell through.

ome residents think that Wednesday’s attack on Harshu Sethi’s house by the mob was planned. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Some residents think that Wednesday’s attack on Harshu Sethi’s house by the mob was planned. “Around three months ago, the helps had protested at the main gate of the society asking for a pay hike but their attempt to harass us failed. Some of them boycotted work for two days but then normalcy was resumed as many of them were happy with the state of affairs,” said Meenakshi Rastogi, a resident of Mahagun Moderne society.

Residents faced a riot-like situation on Wednesday morning when a mob stormed into the society premises and vandalised Harshu Sethi’s house.

“I was at home with my husband and son when our house was surrounded by the mob. They broke our windows and tried to enter our house. Around 50 people barged in and we had to lock ourselves inside a bathroom. Else they would have killed us,” Sethi said.

Noida mayhem: Everybody had a free run in the upscale gated society. Only the cops looked like mute spectators.
Watch video! pic.twitter.com/IrZzHrAPbv

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“I was so scared for myself and my son who is just eight years old. They were shouting that I should be raped and murdered for ill-treating Zora, which is a lie,” Sethi said.

Previously, when helps were seeking a pay hike, residents had stated that their salary would be fixed depending on the work. The wages for sweeping, mopping and cleaning of utensils in a 3BHK flat is Rs2,000, Rs1,500 for a 2BHK, Rs1,000 per head for one-time cooking and Rs1,000 for dusting. For additional work, extra money had to be paid.

“A few months ago, some maids had stopped coming to work but it was made clear that their unreasonable demands won’t be fulfilled and the matter had ended. We could never think that these people could get so violent and dangerous. We can’t take the risk of allowing them to enter our houses without proper guidelines,” said Manju, a resident.

Over 300 people had gathered at the gates of the Mahagun Moderne around 6am on Wednesday, alleging that one of its residents had assaulted a domestic help. The crowd managed to overpower the security guards and forcefully entered the premises.

According to the residents, Zora, a domestic help, was allegedly caught stealing money from the apartment of Sethi and she had fled when she was threatened with action.

The police confirmed that several agitators were armed with iron rods and were also indiscriminately pelting stones.