The woman’s employer had filed a police complaint accusing her of theft

Over 50 people who work as domestic help for residents of Mantri Tranquil on Kanakapura Road staged a dharna outside the apartment complex on Sunday to protest the alleged ill-treatment and abuse of a maid by the police.

The maid, Gangamma. 40, had been accused of theft by the family she worked for. She accused the the jurisdictional Talaghattapura police of torturing her for over four hours on Thursday.

The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) has recorded Gangamma’s statement, and are investigating the allegations, said a senior police officer.

However, no police complaint has been registered.

Demand for apology

On Sunday, the protesters demanded an apology from the family that had filed a case against Gangamma, who was admitted to a private hospital after being let off by the police.

In her complaint to the KSHRC, Gangamma said that she lived in a labour shed behind the apartment complex, and worked in eight apartments. One of the flat owners filed a police complaint accusing her of theft.

Gangamma alleged that on Thursday around 5.30 p.m., two policemen in plainclothes picked her up from her house on the pretext of offering her a job. She was instead escorted to Talaghattapura police station. She was accompanied by her son Manjunath, but he was made to remain outside the station.

‘No women constables’

In her complaint to the KSHRC, she claimed that she was taken to a room where her hands were tied to a rod. There were no women constables. “The male policemen, who picked me up, started hitting me on my chin, on my back and on my lower body. I was in a state of shock and fell unconscious,” she said.

Around 11 p.m., Gangamma said she was woken up by two constables and directed to leave the police station. No statement was recorded.

“The police personnel, who were present, advised me to go to a hospital on 80 Feet Road at Gubbalala for treatment,” she said, adding that she was later forced by the police to sign an undertaking that the wounds were old ones.

As word of the incident spread, residents of the colony staged a protest.

Gangamma is being assisted by her lawyer Madhusudhan, who helped her file a complaint with the KSHRC.