12-Year-Old Pregnant Domestic Helper Burned Alive By Employer

A pregnant minor, who was working as a domestic helper, was allegedly burnt alive by her employer, authorities have said.

The tragic incident happened in the eastern Indian state of Assam. The 12-year-old girl, who had been working as a domestic helper for her employer's family for five years, was reportedly burnt alive on April 22, Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) said as per The Hindu.

On the day of the incident, the victim allegedly sought permission from her employer, Prakash Borthakur, to go home. But instead of letting her go, the employer allegedly poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze, reported Times of India.

The police arrested her employer Borthakur, 70, and his son Nayanmoni, 25, Friday after the charred body of the victim was recovered from their house.

Citing Borthakur's neighbors, ASCPCR said Saturday that the victim became pregnant after being sexually abused.

"It has been also informed to the Commission that the victim child was physically and mentally abused regularly by Borthakur," the commission said further. "This is a case of heinous offence and one where a child has been murdered and the Commission has taken the case very seriously."

During the interrogation, Borthakur and Nayanmoni initially told the officers that the girl had committed suicide. However, after the initial investigation, the police began suspecting that the girl had been murdered.

Investigators are awaiting an autopsy report to confirm the victim's exact cause of death.

Borthakur's family had reportedly convinced the victim's parents from a nearby tribal village to let the child live with them when she was 7 by promising to send her to a local primary school, East Mojo said in a report.

Although the girl was enrolled in a local school, she worked as a domestic helper for the family.

Basapi Kro'pi, the child's mother, revealed that she had not been allowed to see her daughter over the last five years.

The victim might have been upset because of it, Lakhiprasad Deka, district secretary for the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samity (MASS), a local rights organization focusing on human rights issues, said.

"We are sickened by the act but also this is a prevalent thing in Nagaon and several other districts of Assam. Rich, aristocratic families promise education to the parents of young children and bring them to work as domestic help," Deka told East Mojo.