17 January,2011 07:11 AM IST | | Archana Solanki
Hired help approaches women's commission after being routinely thrashed
A swig of whisky can often lead to fatal consequences. That's what a maid realised recently in south Delhi's posh Paschim Vihar area. Asha, a 25-year-old Assamese woman who was hired as a domestic help, had turned to the bottle when she was battling high fever. But she never imagined that could lead to her ordeal.
Scared and scarred : Asha has been shifted to Commission's shelter
after she filed a complaint against her employer for beating and absuing her
Hired by a placement agency three months back to work for Anju Saini, assistant HR with a leading MNC, Asha worked for a paltry Rs 1,500. Beatings were a regular occurrence but things took a nasty turn on January 12 when she was sick and reportedly consumed some liquor kept in the house. "I had high fever that day and consumed whisky but when I was asked about it, I admitted that I did take a sip," she said.
Help comes calling
A scared, and scarred, Asha finally decided to call up the Delhi women's commission's 24-hour helpline but ended up calling a wrong number and narrated her plight to the stranger on the other end. Luckily for her, the person later called up the commission and very soon a team was sent to rescue her.
However, Asha only confessed to calling and narrated her plight only when assured full protection. A police complaint has been filed and Asha has now been shifted to the shelter provided by the Delhi women commission's helpline. She also got her monthly dues which were earlier refused to her.
Asha accuses Saini of beating her regularly. "Aunty used to slap me hard every time something went wrong. Once I just tried to open the main door and she accused me of running away from the house. She used to abuse on slightest mistakes. My father died two days back and still I wasn't allowed to go and attend his funeral," she said.
Asha was promised that she would be allowed to go to her village until they get a replacement but her father's demise was also a small reason for her boss to let go of her.
Nothing new about it
"The Saini family has a dismal record as far as household helps are concerned. Their previous maid had also run away", informed a neighbour who did not wish to be named. Saini has a different story to tell her. "I treated Asha like my daughter. I always used to take her to the doctor when she was unwell. All her allegations are false. This can be some mischief by someone who has personal grudge against us," she said.
Lately a lot of incidents have been reported where poor and ignorant people from rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and other areas are roped in the name of jobs in big cities like Delhi by placement agencies by furnishing wrong information and fooling both the people who hire them and those who work as helps.
