Employer sent to 14-day judicial custody in maid rescue case

A 50-year-old woman, arrested for allegedly assaulting and illegally confining a girl working as a maid in her house, was today remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a Delhi court after police said she was not needed for further custodial interrogation.
Accused Vandana Dhir was produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar after expiry of one day police custody and her counsel claimed in the court that the alleged victim was mentally unstable.
The court remanded her to judicial custody till October 15.
Dhir's counsel told the court that injury marks were there on the girl's body since she started working as a maid in her house and his client was continuously giving her medical treatment for it.

"Kindly see the medical report and see the opinion of the doctor who was treating the girl earlier. She is mentally unstable... The placement agency had said that she hails from a tribal area and injuries were there on her body earlier also. She was working as a maid in my house since June and I am providing her medical treatment from August onwards," Dhir's counsel said.
The police, however, opposed her lawyer's claim and said there were grievous injury marks on the girl's body, including a deep cut mark on her head and the victim had herself stated to the police that she was confined in the house and beaten continuously.

The court inquired from the police regarding the age of the victim and the investigating officer (IO) said according to the doctors, she is aged between 18-20 years but an ossification test will ascertain her actual age and it would be conducted tomorrow.
The IO also said they had recovered slip of the placement agency, from where she was hired as a maid, and its address and other facts are to be verified.