CHENNAI: A 17-year-old girl from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and two 20-year-old girls, one from AP and another from Poonamallee, who were employed as bonded labourers at a sprawling house at Valasaravakkam in Chennai, were rescued by a team of officials on Tuesday. Medical examination of the girls showed they had suffered multiple bodily injuries from years of physical abuse.
The house owner, Z Rashida (50), has been arrested and she will be remanded soon, sources said. Rashida owns an imitation jewellery shop in Anna Nagar. Her husband Zaheer Hussain works abroad.
Rashida had allegedly loaned Rs 3 lakh each to the girls from Andhra Pradesh, while the girl from Poonamallee had been employed for six years after being given a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh. The 20-year-old from Andhra Pradesh had been working there for three years. They were not paid any monthly salary.
Sources said that the minor girl’s father suffered a paralytic attack five years ago.
‘Girls branded with cooking equipment’
Following this, her mother accepted Rs 50,000 from the woman for his treatment and sent the girl, who was just 12 years old then, to work as house help, sources said. Kala spent most of her childhood at Rashida’s house, and allegedly suffered years of physical abuse. Her responsibilities included taking care of Rashida’s 16-year-old daughter from 4 am when she usually goes out for horse riding.
“Unable to bear the torture, my sister escaped three times in the first two years and came back to our house. But Rashida would always come for her. Each time, she added her travel costs to our debt. I wanted to go to the police, but Rashida threatened us saying she would file a theft complaint against my sister. I haven’t seen my sister for three years. I’m just relieved that she will finally come back to us,” said the girl’s sister.
According to sources, the rescue operation was initiated after the child helpline received a tip-off about bonded labourers being employed in the house. A district task force, including officials from the District Child Protection Office, Labour Department, Revenue Department, Special Juvenile Police Unit and Social Welfare Department, along with childline workers and activists went to the house on Monday. Although only the owner’s relatives were present during the inspection, the three girls were found working there.
“Initially, the girls were hesitant to speak. But when we spoke to them separately, they revealed the horrific details of physical and verbal abuse. They had been branded and beaten with cooking equipment. One of the girls even lost her teeth after being beaten with a torchlight,” a source, who was part of the rescue team, said.
Family members also said that the girls from Andhra Pradesh tried to escape from the house multiple times, but they were traced with the help of police. “As they were not able to withstand the abuse, the girls escaped from the house. However, the owner traced their location with the help of their phone signal and police and brought them back. Rashida had also filed a police complaint saying that the girls stole jewellery from her shop to ensure that she could threaten the girls from running away. She used the complaint to only threaten the girls and the police didn’t file an FIR,” said a source.
Upon information, the Revenue Divisional Officer also conducted an inquiry for issuing bonded labour certificates. They will be provided immediate relief given to bonded labourers.