Domestic help rescued from Patel Nagar home

NEWDELHI: A 25-year-old migrant domestic worker, allegedly trapped at her employer’s house, was rescued from west Delhi’s Patel Nagar on Tuesday evening by a group of lawyers and social activists, with the help of the Delhi Police and the Delhi government’s labour department.

The woman was allegedly trafficked from her home town in Odisha two years ago after being offered a job in Delhi.

The woman was forced into domestic labour at a house in Patel Nagar for around two years, a statement issued by the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), a collective of lawyers and social activists, said.

“She was made to work for around 18 hours without wages. Also, the woman said she was beaten up repeatedly by the family for not “following their orders”. She was also not allowed to talk to anyone outside the house,” the statement said.

The woman will be provided legal aid to recover her wages, it said.

In her statement to the labour department, the woman said, “I was made to work from 6am till approximately 1am every day. I was forced to work despite being exhausted and if I failed to do so, I was beaten up by the family. On multiple occasions, I tried to escape, but each time, they would beat me up for the attempt.”

The Delhi Police said it has registered a case in the matter and a probe is on against the accused.