A case of child labour and atrocity has come to light in north-west Delhi’s Model Town area, wherein a 14-year-old girl was confined, brutually beaten and tortured by her lady doctor employer.

The girl was rescued by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) after it received a complaint about her being held hostage and being harassed by the doctor, said DCW chief Swati Maliwal.

She told The Statesman that; “as we were informed about the situation of the girl, I along with my colleagues Sarika Chaudhary and Promila Gupta went to the house. Initially, we were confronted by the lady doctor. She was reluctant to let us inside the house so we forcibly opened the door and went ahead with our investigation.”

“Subsequently, we found the victim in a miserable condition. She informed she is a native of Jharkhand,” Maliwal said. Elaborating on the condition of the minor, the DCW chief stated; “the girl was not even provided woollen clothes. She had bruises all over her body and several burn marks on her hands and fingers which pointed to atrocities and torture she had undergone.”

She said the girl broke down while narrating her tale. She came from a poor family in Ranchi. Poverty had prompted her parents to send their daughter to Delhi through a placement agency which promised  her a good job, Maliwal told The Statesman.

Expressing her disappointment Swati Maliwal averred; “it is an irony that a doctor and mother of a two-year-old child treated a minor girl in an inhuman manner. The condition of the girl was so miserable that it is beyond words to explain. High education cannot guarantee good conduct and the accused must be given high punishment.”

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police Aslam Khan disclosed that the lady doctor had been arrested. “As the victim did not accuse any other family member besides the lady doctor for her ill treatment, no action was taken against the doctor’s husband,” said DCP.

he ssaid a case under Sections 323 (for voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 370 (trafficking of person), 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of Indian Penal Code, and Sections 75 (for cruelty to child) and 79 (for sending the child outside the jurisdiction of the competent authority) of Justice Juvenile Act and 16 Bonded Labour Act was registered against the accused at Model Town police station.

The DCP further disclosed that primary investigation revealed that the minor was brought to Delhi from Ranchi. “We studied the documents of placement agency procured from the house of the accused. The contact number and address were found to be fake. However, police identified the person who brought minor from Ranchi. His name is Ram and he operates from Jharkhand.

The officer said that a team had been deployed to go to Jharkhand and track down the suspect.