15-Year-Old Domestic Help Rescued After Suffering Months-Long Torture By Couple

A 15-year-old domestic help was rescued in India after she suffered five months of abuse at the hands of her employers. The girl was allegedly beaten up, branded with hot tongs, and even had her clothes torn.

The incident was reported in Gurugram, a city located about 15 miles from the national capital of New Delhi in northern India. Police nabbed the couple after a social activist, Deepika Narayan Bharadwaj took to Twitter and shared images of the victim with bruises covering her face and forehead, as well as swollen lips.

The girl, who hails from the state of Jharkhand, was admitted to a hospital and doctors are trying to ascertain if she was sexually assaulted, NDTV reported.

The accused duo who work for private companies, recruited the minor to take care of their 3-month-old daughter. The victim said in her statement that she was starved by the couple and was only allotted one meal a day, forcing her to scour for leftovers in the trash can.

"I was beaten with a rope, sticks... They used a blade to inflict cuts on my arm and near my lips. They hit me with hot iron tongs and used lit matchsticks. While washing clothes and doing chores, they made me take off my clothes. Often I slept on the floor... without clothes. She tore the clothes that I had brought. He disrobed me and beat me with a stick. On one occasion, they tried to strangle me and threatened to kill me," she told cops, News 18 reported.

"I was given only one meal to eat at night – a small bowl of rice. I ate leftover food from the dustbin sometimes. I felt helpless and was scared to tell anyone... They said I didn't do work on time, which is why they were beating me," the outlet quoted the victim, as telling the cops.

The accused woman and her husband both have since been sacked from their respective companies.

"We are shocked to learn about the human rights and child abuse allegations against Kamaljeet Kaur. As an organization, we respect the Indian legal system and are strictly against any form of human rights abuse. The company has terminated her services with immediate effect," PR Mantra, the agency where the woman worked, said in a statement.

Authorities from a local NGO "Sakhi" stepped in to help reunite the girl with her parents after an anonymous caller revealed the girl's ordeal to them. Nishi Kant, executive director of Shakti Vahini, a childline in Gurugram, told News 18 that they were trying to contact the girl's family in Jharkhand and were in the process of rehabilitating her.