Jaunpur MP's wife made me eat like a dog, another abused maid says

NEW DELHI: Meena Sardar, a domestic help who worked at the South Avenue house of arrested MP Dhananjay Singh and his wifeJagriti - where another maid, Rakhi, was allegedly beaten to death - has claimed that Jagriti at times forced her to eat like a dog, without using her hands.

"I was made to lick my food, with my hands and knees on the floor. Jagriti laughed at us while we ate like dogs," Meena told the police. Cops said Jagriti would 'experiment' on her maid, using new tools and excuses to torture them in different ways. On November 3, police claimed that Jagriti jumped on Rakhi's chest, which perhaps lead to her death. TOI reported on Thursday how the maid's teeth were broken with a spoon after she did not consume food.

Meena may have to stay in hospital for a long time as her hip bone is broken and she has grievous injuries, said DCP, New Delhi district, S B S Tyagi.

Cops are also looking at the trafficking angle in the case and are in the process of verifying the antecedents of Rakhi and Meena.

Meanwhile, Rakhi's son Shehjan, who is in his 20s, arrived in Delhi from Kolkata on Thursday. "I was not in touch with her for the last three months. She last called to say she would see me soon and that her madam was not allowing her to make phone calls," he said.

The post mortem will be carried out by doctors at Lady Hardinge Medical College on Friday in his presence. "A medical board has been constituted for the autopsy, which will be videographed," said Madhur Verma, addl DCP, New Delhi.
RML hospital, where Jagriti worked as a dental surgeon, too has requested the police for a report on the case. TOI accessed the FIR filed on Thursday in which a third help, a 17-year-old boy, has given details of how they were tortured. He said Rakhi was working in the house since February.

"On April 1, Jagriti beat up Rakhi with a broom for not cooking properly. She also cut her hair that day... The other day, she hit Rakhi so hard that the stick broke after which she hit her with the sharp edge of the broken stick," the boy said in the FIR.

The help also indicted Dhananjay. "Whenever MP saab would come home, we would complain to him. But he would change the topic, saying, 'if you make mistakes, you will be punished'. Because of madam's influence, even MP saab used to hit us with shoes. Ten-fifteen days back, madam asked me if I had broken a glass. When I denied it, she put a hot press on my back and stomach," says the FIR.