There was one horrible video on social media where a tribal woman is telling her horrific experience with BJP leader Seema Patra. She tortured her tribal domestic help to death. If this video wouldn’t surface on social media the BJP leader would have continued doing so. Finally, she was arrested by Ranchi police in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Seema Patra had fled fearing police arrest, following which Argora police in Ranchi launched a search operation for her. Sunita, who worked as domestic help, was made to clean the toilet with her tongue. This is the height of inhumanity. In my opinion, she and her husband must be tried under all appropriate sections of the law and severely punished as soon as possible. Sunita had multiple wounds throughout her body. She alleged that Seema Patra used to burn her with hot objects.
Acting on a tip-off from a government employee, the Ranchi Police had rescued the woman from Patra’s residence last week and recorded the domestic help statement on August 30 before a magistrate
A case was registered against Patra, wife of former IAS officer Maheshwar Patra, under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the SC-ST Act, 1989, at the Argoda police station in Ranchi. The statement of Sunita was recorded in court under Section 164 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand BJP suspended Seema Patra.
Central government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, according to her Facebook profile. The NCW said it has written to the Jharkhand police chief for a fair investigation and sought the woman’s arrest if the allegations are true. The abuse sparked outrage among the public, with people calling for Patra’s immediate arrest.
According to a post shared by The Dalit Voice, the domestic help was kept at the Patra household and tortured for eight years. She was beaten with a hot ‘Tawa’ (pan) and metal rods and was compelled to lick the floor’s urine, the Twitter page said. In a video shared in the post, the woman is seen lying on a hospital bed making a desperate attempt to utter a few words to a man speaking to her. Her teeth are broken and bruises on her body point to repeated attacks.
Seema Patra is the state convener of the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign. She was a member of BJP’s women’s wing and is the wife of ex-IAS officer Maheshwar Patra. Seema Patra’s son, Ayushman, working at the state secretariat, attempted to shield the maid and he had informed his friend, Vivek Baske, about the incidents at home. Sunita finally spoke about her ordeal to Vivek and was rescued with his help. The National Commission for Women took cognizance of reports of Seema Patra harassing her domestic help in Jharkhand. Seema is now sent to 14-day police remand till September 12 by a local court, public prosecutor Pradeep Chaurasia said. Every culprit when caught by police for wrongdoing says the same thing that I am innocent. So, there is nothing new in her statement also.
Un-imaginable horrible crime by a leader and her educated IAS husband, she must be punished harshly including breaking her teeth so she realizes the pain she inflicted on her help. This is mind-boggling All BJP politicians are being exposed and arrested that too without ED or the Police. Sadly all those so-called flag bearers of BJP are silent on this incident.
No woman leader came forward to condemn the leader. Indian homes have witnessed a 120% increase in domestic workers in the decade post-liberalization. While the figure was 7,40,000 in 1991, it increased to 16.6 lakh in 2001. Today, it has become a norm for a family to depend on a maid. According to data provided by Delhi Labour Organisation, there are over five crore domestic workers in India most of whom are women. Domestic workers are seldom talked about. New Delhi being the national capital, stories of exploitation of domestic workers make headlines once in a while as a large number of women from other states arrive here to earn a livelihood and work as maids. Here in Maharashtra, you will find most of the house helps are from either Konkan or Bengal, but there are hardly any cases of brutality towards them. Looking at the Seema Patra case, the political climate and leadership show how cruel they can be not only unwelcome, but they also create a threat to women’s safety because of their social status and ethnicity.
