Locked House Help Rescued From Posh Soc As Employers Go Off On A Holiday

BONDED LABOUR SHOCKER IN WANAWADI

In a dramatic operation, cops broke down door to extricate 22-year-old Raigad native, who narrated that she had been kept underpaid, overworked and abused for over a year now; case filed against one Shilpa Meher, who has refuted all the allegations

In a shocking case of bonded labour to emerge from within the city, a 22-year-old woman hired as a house help was apparently assaulted and kept locked in a flat in Wanawadi while the family that employed her went off on a holiday, after over a year of being overworked, underpaid, underfed and beaten. When she barely managed to reach out to law enforcement for help, the victim was rescued in a dramatic operation in the middle of the night by policemen, who roamed around the sprawling 400-flat residential complex for over an hour before they saw her gesturing with her lit-up mobile phone from her balcony. Now, a police case has been registered against the girl’s employer, identified as one Shilpa Meher, at Wanawadi police station (PS). The latter has, in turn, denied all allegations of abuse and said the young girl herself suggested that the house be locked.

The incident took place at the posh Manikchand Malabar Hills in Lullanagar on February 19, and complainant Meena Kharville, who hails from Raigad, was finally rescued from flat number 304 on the third floor by local police, who broke open the door lock.

Police informed, “Meher was planning to go out of Pune with her family. As per the complaint, when Kharville requested her to also be given leave to go meet her parents at her village, the accused not only refused to do so, but beat the victim and hid her mobile phone. Finally, the family left on Friday morning and Kharville was locked up here. Her health had deteriorated over her stay and worsened due to the assault, and she could not find her phone initially. Finally, after searching for the entire day, Kharville found her phone hidden behind a window. She managed to charge it and called her brother in Raigad, who advised her to get immediate help from Pune police, as it would take too long for her family to extricate her. At this point, Kharville dialled 100 and got in touch with cops.”

However, more confusion was to follow. The control room issued the alert to night cops on duty across the city, but it was difficult for them to determine which area the girl was staying in, as she inadvertently gave them the incorrect information. Shocked and traumatised, she was crying hysterically and continuously, and they had to keep her calm and on the line throughout. She admitted that she did not know where she is located and told them it was possibly Shivajinagar. Thereafter, Shivajinagar police swung into action and tried to locate her for three hours, but could not trace her location in the area. At the time, senior police inspector Deepak Lagad and police constables Kailas Malkar and Suresh Nevse from Wanawadi PS were on night duty. Finally, Nevse advised her to try and remember the exact society name. Luckily, the girl managed to remember Manikchand Malabar Hills — immediately, the cops realised it is actually in Lullanagar.

Their team rapidly arrived at the society to find the girl, and began tracking her through the labyrinthine complex, with some help from security guards on duty. Finally, the cops saw her standing on the balcony and waving her hands with the mobile phone lit up. Immediately, they ascertained the flat number and reached the door to break her out.

Speaking to Mirror, Kharville revealed, “My parents, brother and I live in Raigad. I come from a very poor family and desperately needed a job. One of my friends referred me to this opening at Meher in 2019 to take care of her two daughters. While she is a dance teacher, her husband has a furniture business. But, since I joined, she would never allow me to go out of the flat as they thought that I would run away, and beat me if I ever asked to visit my home. I used to do all the household work and still get treated very badly. She harmed me physically. She would give me a meal once a day and thrash me if I asked for more. She had promised Rs 6,000 per month, but just sent Rs 10,000 once to my brother’s bank account and nothing thereafter for all these months. When I asked her if I could visit my parents when the family was going out of town, she hit me with a stick and punched my stomach, leaving me in a lot of pain. The flat was locked and I could not ask anyone for help. After hours, I found my hidden phone, spoke to my brother and then the police.”

She added, “I really did not know exactly where we live, so I was unable to convey the address. But cops reassured me not to switch off my phone, and said they would find me. I spoke to them around 11 pm, and sure enough, they reached the society by 4 am. I was standing in the balcony and gesturing with my mobile phone torch. I was really scared. They broke the lock open and saved me. Cops sent me to hospital for medical treatment and also arranged for some food. They then got a vehicle to drop me to my home in Raigad. I will always be thankful to them.”

Assistant police inspector (API) Bhagwan Kamble of Wanawadi PS said, “The girl approached the police on the night of February 19 and we rescued her in the wee hours of February 20. On Sunday, our police team went to Raigad to drop the girl home. Her medical report indicated a minor internal injury. The accused has not yet been arrested as she is out of Pune with her family. A case has been registered against Meher under sections 343, 344, 346, 324, 323, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), for charges of wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation.”

However, Meher rubbished all allegations of abuse and mistreatment vociferously. She told Mirror, “This is a false accusation against me. She has worked with us for the last one year and I have always treated her properly. Her parents never come to visit her — I even called them to come and meet her. I always give her the payment on time. I was out of Pune for a day so she herself suggested to me that I lock the house.”