Police Arrest Suspended BJP Politician Accused of Torturing Housemaid
© Photo : ANI
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There are millions of servants in India. Most of them are illiterate and come from impoverished backgrounds and are not well-versed in the laws which exist to safeguard them against violence or abusive behavior. Moreover, the fear of losing their job prevents them from speaking up against abuse.
Seema Patra, a female politician who has now been suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly brutally torturing her housemaid Sunita for years.
The wife of a retired bureaucrat, Patra was a national executive member for the BJP in Jharkhand. She was also a member of the national working committee of the party's women's wing.
Jharkhand State Governor Ramesh Bais has directed the Director General of Police to submit a report about the case within two days.
The maid Sunita was hospitalized, with injuries on her body and face, as well as missing teeth as a consequence of repeated assault.
This is how BJP National Working Committee leader Seema Patra tortured a tribal girl for 8 years ...#BJPseBeti_Ko_Bachaao@KTRTRS pic.twitter.com/oMBkxe9n4d
— krishanKTRS (@krishanKTRS) August 30, 2022
Admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, Sunita can be seen in a video clip, unable to stand up or even sit by herself.
She entered the Patras' employment almost 10 years ago. During the first four years, she was in Delhi with Seema Patra and her daughter. They returned to Ranchi in 2016.
Since then, Patra used to allegedly beat her regularly with hot pans and iron rods and held her captive. Sunita has said that she was once even made to lick urine for asking for some drinking water.
However, the brutality was too much for Patra's son, Aysuhman, who urged a friend to file a police complaint against his parents. Later, Sunita was rescued from their house.
"Seema Patra, wife of a former IAS officer, physically abused her domestic help in Ashok Nagar in Ranchi," a press release issued by the Governor House stated.
The National Commission of Women is also looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have targeted BJP on the issue.
Sunita, a handicapped tribal girl worked as a domestic help for Seema Patra
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) August 30, 2022
Seema broke her teeth with a rod, burnt her, made her lick urine
Before being sacked, this monster BJP leader, Seema Patra was convenor of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao in Jharkhand
Sick #Seemapatra
Shiv Sena politician Priyanka Chaturvedi described the incident as "horrifying and shameful".
"What power trip are these BJP leaders on?" she wrote on Twitter.
A maid who was working at BJP leader Seema Patra's house, suffered dozens of injuries on her body after she was allegedly burnt with a hot pan by her owner.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) August 30, 2022
This is horrifying and shameful. What power trip are these BJP leaders on? https://t.co/mUuHLvipKE
