Pilot & Husband Arrested for Assaulting 10yr Old House Help
A female pilot and her husband are dragged from their home and beaten by a mob in India after 'beating a ten-year-old they had as a housemaid'.
Poornima Bagchi, 33, is a pilot with Indigo Airlines, and her husband Kaushik, 36, worked as ground staff with Vistara. They were dragged out of their home and violently attacked by a revenge mob for allegedly abusing a 10-year-old girl they kept as a maid in India. It is a very shocking incident. The couple live on the second floor of the building while the minor girl stays nearby. According to the girl's family members, she was employed at the residence about a month ago to play and take care of the couple's four-year-old son. However, the couple allegedly engaged her in other chores, like ironing clothes and sweeping. The girl's parents left for Bihar on July 2 after a death in the family. On 19 July 2023 the girl's aunt, who was on her way to work around 8.30 am with other relatives, claimed they spotted the girl cleaning the terrace with a broom and the pilot hitting her on her head. Her aunt said, "We asked her what had happened and she told us the woman was angry as she had not cleaned properly. When we asked her to come downstairs, the girl said she was not allowed to. We then raised the alarm and asked her employer to send her down. She did not open the door of her house on the second floor and locked the main door too. Her employer kept saying she would speak to her parents.” As more and more people gather, the couple opens the door and the locals rescue the girl.
The aunt said, "The girl was scared and hugged us tight. She looked completely distraught. They burnt her with an irontongs and hit her so many times that she had red marks under her eyes.” On seeing her injuries the crowd became very angry. Poornima tried to stop the mob from entering her property before she was hauled out of the garage by her hair, with Kaushik trying to pry her away from the baying crowd. The locals then proceeded to thrash the couple on the street. The tearful young girl, who had bruises on her face was seen watching the melee unfold. Poornima pleads with the aggressive locals to let her and her husband go. After freeing himself, Kaushik runs back to his wife's aid and manages to separate her from the enraged mob and get them back to the safety of their gated home.
Harsha M Vardhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Dwarka, 'The couple have been detained. Arrest proceedings are being carried out. The minor has recorded her statement with the counsellor. She alleged that she was beaten up almost regularly for not working as per the couple’s instructions,'We are looking into all the allegations.' He added that action will also be taken against the crowd who were filmed beating the couple.
