punjab

Updated: Feb 25, 2018 21:48 IST

A housemaid was arrested on Sunday after she was caught in a video brutally thrashing a 19-month-old girl at Kesariwal locality of Punjab’s Kapurthala.

In the three-minute video that has gone viral on social media, the woman is seen hitting the child with a wooden stick, biting her cheeks and grabbing her sweatshirt besides scolding her. The child is seen screaming in pain and gasping for breath. She is also seen increasing the TV volume to ensure that the toddler’s screams were not audible.

The police arrested the accused, Parveen (35) of Mehtabgarh locality in Kapurthala, on the complaint of the child’s father Sukhdev Singh.

Sukhdev told the police they hired Parveen at Rs 1,500 per month to look after their child in their absence as both of them are working. He said the maid behaved well in their presence.

“We noticed behavioural changes in our child who appeared to be frightened. Also, we saw marks on her body. We grew suspicious that something was wrong. On Friday, we fitted a mobile phone in one corner of the house with its video recording on to check what the maid was doing,” he said.

Sukhdev claimed the maid had also stolen money and other things from their house.

Kapurthala city station house officer (SHO) Gabbar Singh said the accused during her interrogation said she would beat up the child to silence her.

The case was registered under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 380 (theft in a dwelling unit) of the Indian Penal Code at Kapurthala (city) police station.