Nearly 16 months after a domestic help was allegedly gang-raped and her tongue mutilated by attackers in southeast Delhi’s Govindpuri, Delhi Police has registered a case following a court order.
The woman alleged that her female employer gave her a cold drink laced with sedatives, after which she was gang-raped by four to five people. A day later, she gained her senses and found herself admitted to a hospital by the woman employer and her husband, who threatened her with dire consequences. Somehow, the woman managed to escape.
The woman filed the complaint on July 27, 2023, and the police registered it on April 15, 2024, after the court order the same day.
In the complaint, the woman has said that she was employed as a domestic worker in a home in Govindpuri when she was sexually assaulted. Her employer operated a massage centre, frequented by many patrons.
On Dec 29, 2022, the woman employer told her to come to the house to prepare food in the evening as it was her daughter’s birthday and that some guests would be there.
Between 8 pm and 9 pm, four to five people arrived, and one of the men persistently stared at her. He also touched the domestic help’s hand on the pretext of asking for water. Later, they started dancing in the house, the complainant said.
She said that around the same time, her employer offered her a cold drink allegedly laced with some intoxicating substance.
After consuming it, the help lost consciousness. The following day, she found herself in a hospital in Gurgaon, with severe bruises and pain throughout her body. She had deep and severe injuries to her mouth, eyes, tongue, head and face. Her tongue was cut, rendering her voice inaudible. She was unable to speak.
There was significant swelling and pain in my private parts, and I was covered in blood. The woman had admitted me under a false name, and neither she, nor her husband, had informed my family about the incident. They, along with others, conspired to portray the entire incident as an accident to conceal the gang rape, the complainant said. The woman’s lawyer alleged that the gang rape happened inside a car in Gurgaon.
She also mentioned that when she confronted them, the couple threatened her with severe consequences. She repeatedly requested that she be allowed to contact her family.
A person helped the survivor contact her family. Eventually, the woman escaped from the hospital in the clothes provided by the facility and met her family. They admitted her to another hospital.
Her lawyer said that she took her time to recover somewhat from the assault and then file a complaint. But there was no proper investigation, so she had to move to court. She is still recovering from the assault, the lawyer added. A senior police officer said the matter is under judicial monitoring.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
