Minor Help Dies, Allegedly by Suicide, at Employer’s Home in Delhi; FIR Filed

"She was taken to Delhi by someone in the village on the pretext of a job," said the girl's aunt.

A minor domestic help allegedly died by suicide in her employers’ home in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden on 31 May.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A 16-year-old domestic help from Jharkhand, died allegedly by suicide at her employer's home in West Delhi's Rajouri Garden. As per the police, the minor girl “took this step as she was upset because she wanted to return to her hometown.“

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), West, Vichitra Veer, told The Quint, “An FIR has been lodged under sections 306 (abetment to suicide) and 370 (trafficking of persons) of the Indian Penal Code. Under the inquest proceedings, statements of the employers and the girl’s father, were recorded.”

According to the FIR which was registered on Wednesday, 7 June, the employers informed the police that they had hired her via an agency called 'Asha Placement Agency'.

The agents had taken Rs 45,000 commission and she was employed at a salary of Rs 9,500 per month. A boy from the village had taken her to Delhi on the pretext of a job. Meanwhile, the family did not know about her whereabouts. 

A police officer said, “According to the landlord’s statement, the girl would repeatedly say that she did not want to work anymore and wanted to return to her hometown...” The girl was employed by a family comprising an elderly couple and their children. Only the elderly couple were at home when she died, allegedly by suicide, said the police.

The girl hailed from Jharkhand's Simdega district. The girl’s father and aunt travelled to Delhi when they were informed about the incident. The aunt told The Quint,

She was taken to Delhi by someone in the village on the pretext of a job. We knew that they would get her a job in Delhi or Punjab but we did not know where she was. We were informed about the incident at 9 pm on 1 June. At the time, we did not even have the means to travel. We arranged Rs 15,000 and left for Delhi immediately. Her father did not even know that she was working in Delhi...

The minor girl's aunt

She added, “She did not have a mobile phone so there was no interaction between the girl and her parents...” It is not yet clear if the girl was paid her dues for the months that she worked at the employer’s house. 

The incident comes only months after a minor domestic help trafficked from Simdega district in Jharkhand, was allegedly beaten up mercilessly by her employers in Gurugram. 

Nirmal Gorana, Convenor, National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour, said, “The child was trafficked to Delhi without the knowledge of the child’s parents and was placed as a domestic worker at Rajouri Garden.” He added that the girl belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. He said, “Action should be taken against the principal employer. Sections from the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and Sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be added to the FIR.”