MP and his dentist wife arrested after claims she 'tortured maid to death and beat up male servant'



A Bahujan Samaj Party MP and his dentist wife have been arrested for allegedly torturing their maid to death and beating up another domestic help.



The accused - Jagriti Singh (29) and her husband Dhananjay Singh, an MP from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh - were initially detained at Chanakyapuri police station for questioning.



The police later arrested and booked Jagriti under IPC sections 302 for murder, 307 attempt to murder, and the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly torturing and murdering her maid Rakhi (35) and assaulting a servant, Ramphal (17), with rods and an electric iron.



Delhi Police have booked Jagriti Singh (left), for the alleged murder of her 35-year-old maid Rakhi, and for torturing her 17-year-old servant Ramphal. Her husband, MP Dhananjay Singh (right) is accused of giving false evidence to protect her.



Dhananjay has been booked under IPC sections 201, 202 for causing disappearance of evidence and giving false information to screen the offender and under the Juvenile Justice Act.



The charges join a string of criminal cases against Dhananjay, an MP from UP.



According to the police, Jagriti thrashed Rakhi on Diwali afternoon after an argument over house cleaning and tried to strangle her. Dhananjay was in Jaunpur at that time.



Although the maid died on Monday morning, it was only after Dhanajay returned in the afternoon that the family decided to inform the police about the death.



Rakhi's body was discovered by the police on Monday night, almost 24 hours after she was allegedly brutally assaulted by Jagriti.



This incident is the latest in a series of physical assaults on domestic helps in the Capital.



J agriti, a dentist at state-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said in her statement that the maid injured herself after falling from terrace on Sunday night.

Instead of taking her to hospital, she tried to treat Rakhi at home but failed to save her, said a senior police officer.



Police at the Delhi residence of MP Dhananjay Singh and his wife after the suspicious death of their maid

The injury marks on the body of the victim, however, do not corroborate the claim. Rakhi's body allegedly has strangulation marks and injuries to the arms, legs and chest.



The young help in the house, who also has several injuries, has recorded his statement against the couple, making a case for their arrest.



Dhananjay said in his statement that his wife called him on Sunday night and told him that Rakhi had fallen from the terrace and hurt herself. He asked her to wait and not take any action till he returns.



The MP returned to his house - number 175, South Avenue - on Monday afternoon, but called the police in the night to inform them about Rakhi's death.



Ramphal has alleged that Jagriti was a hot-tempered woman and used to torture him and Rakhi. Servants working in the neighborhood said no staff worked in that house for more than a few months.

A driver working in another house told Mail Today that a few months ago a maid and a driver quit work after complaining of harassment. Recently, an electrician was beaten up by Jagriti when he tried to save one of her staff from being thrashed, the driver claimed.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, SBS Tyagi, told reporters: "We are investigating the case from all possible angles and seeking help from the minor servant for the case."



Rakhi had been working as a full-time maid in the house for 10 months while Ramphal had been working with the family for the last one year.



Jagriti and Dhananjay got married in 2009 and have a three-year-old son. The couple are reported to have filed for divorce.

BSP MP faces several cases

By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow

BJP President Rajnath Singh is said to be on good terms with Dhananjay Singh

The Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh, who has been arrested in connection with murder of her maid along with his dentist wife Jagriti Singh, has a host of criminal cases registered against him.



According to the police records, Dhananjay is facing more than two dozen serious criminal charges, including murder and running a crime syndicate. Singh married Jagriti after his first wife's death a few years ago.



Cutting across the party lines, several leaders share a good rapport with Singh. The 38-year-old criminal-turned-politician enjoys a very cordial relationship with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh and other Thakur leaders in Uttar Pradesh.



Although BSP supremo Mayawati had suspended him from the party for meeting ailing Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh at AIIMS in September 2011, she revoked it in November 2011 fearing a backlash from Thakur leaders in the state.



Singh had earlier alleged that Mayawati wanted to eliminate him because he was dead against her "dictatorial style of functioning". The Thakur lobby, however, ensured that Singh got the BSP's Lok Sabha ticket from Jaunpur.



Singh was put behind the bars in November 2011 for his alleged involvement in a double murder that took place in April 2010. He is out on bail now. The CB-CID, which is probing the case, suspects Singh had a role in the murders of contractor Sanjay Nishad and tea kiosk owner Nandlal Nishad. They were allegedly killed by the MP's aide Ashutosh Singh.



Sanjay was allegedly murdered because he had got the toll tax collection contract of a pontoon bridge. Surprisingly, Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh reportedly met the MP in jail and offered his support to him.



The two-time MP from Jaunpur had also fielded wife Jagriti from the Malhani constituency in the 2012 Assembly elections, but she lost.







No law to protect domestic helps

By Ayesha Arvind in New Delhi

Despite a constant rise in the cases of domestic help abuse and the consequent furore in the civil society, as of now there is no legislation or established legal framework to protect those working in the unorganised sector of domestic help across the country.



There have been tepid attempts both by the Central and the Delhi governments to rein in placement agencies and establish rights for domestic workers, but nothing concrete has come of it yet.



While there is a blanket ban on employing children below 14 years of age in hazardous sectors, which includes domestic work, there is no law protecting the rights of adult domestic helps.



In 2010, the National Commission for Women (NCW) had submitted a draft Bill titled the Domestic Workers Welfare and Social Security Act, 2010 addressing the working conditions of domestic workers. It is yet to be passed.



On August 4, 2011, the Delhi government gave its nod to the Delhi Placement Agencies (Regulation) Bill but it is yet to be passed despite a high court order that it be ratified soon.

"The Bill concentrates more on protecting the residents from cases like thefts by domestic helps. Penalising the employer if the workers' rights are violated has never been the priority for the State," said senior lawyer and chairperson of NGO Shakti Vahini, Rishi Kant.



With no law in place to seek redressal, experts say it is essential that the government recognises domestic work as an organised profession and fix rights and privileges for those employed in the sector.

