New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl who had been working as a domestic help was rescued from a house in Abul Fazal Enclave-II in southeast Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, in a joint operation carried out on November 3 and 4, The Daily Jagran and Mirror Now reported. The minor is not being named, in line with the protection owed to a child victim.

Source: The Daily Jagran

The rescue followed a complaint by the Association for Voluntary Action, a child-rights NGO. Acting on the directions of the Kalkaji Sub-Divisional Magistrate, a joint team of Delhi Police, the Labour Department and NGO representatives carried out the operation and took the girl into protective care, both reports said.

Source: Mirror Now

Allegations of 20-hour days and burn injuries

The girl told officials she had been kept away from her parents for nearly a year and was made to work from about 6 am until 2 am, nearly 20 hours a day, sweeping, mopping, washing utensils and cleaning. She alleged she was given only tea and leftover food, and was once denied food and water for three consecutive days. These are her allegations, which police are investigating; they have not been proved in court.

Source: The Daily Jagran

She further alleged that her employer repeatedly burnt her with a hot iron and a heated knife, leaving marks on her back, hands and hips. Mirror Now reported multiple fresh and old scars were noted. The employer was identified in police-facing reporting as a woman named Sadaf. The allegations against her are yet to be tested, and no arrest had been made at the time of reporting.

Source: Mirror Now

Case registered under child labour and juvenile justice laws

On the SDM's directions, Shaheen Bagh police station registered a case under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, both outlets reported. Police said the investigation is continuing.

Source: The Daily Jagran

Reports also said the Child Welfare Committee ordered the girl's admission to AIIMS in Delhi for treatment, and that she was placed in the household through an intermediary and paid about Rs 18,000 for nearly a year of work. What happens next rests on the police investigation and the Child Welfare Committee's proceedings.

Source: Mirror Now