Mumbai: MIDC police registered a case of assault and wrongful confinement against three members of a family for allegedly punching and using a waist belt on a domestic help, hired for an hour through an app, for being “slow” at her work. They also assaulted two of her colleagues who turned up to help her.MIDC police detained Fareen Shaikh, her father Firoz Khan, and their relative Tohid, who were served notices and released. TOI is in possession of a copy of the FIR filed against the three.Kalyan resident Sangeetadevi Prasad (38) was allegedly assaulted in the family’s flat at Marol Naka, Andheri East, on Sept 28. In her police statement, Prasad alleged they assaulted her half an hour after she arrived for a household work order scheduled at 3 pm. At some point, she somehow managed to escape from the flat and ran to the building’s ground floor and called up her co-workers, Shanti Devi and Pooja Yadav, for help.The two women also allegedly faced verbal abuse and were whipped with the belt and punched.The two then fled, leaving Prasad behind.According to the complaint, Prasad was washing utensils when Shaikh accused her of working slowly. Prasad alleged that initially they told her to leave. However, as she was leaving, Shaikh allegedly shut the door and detained her inside despite her pleas to be let out. Khan, whom Shaikh addressed as ‘Papa’, tried to reason with her, but she refused to listen and allegedly said they would teach Prasad a lesson.“I then called Shanti Devi and Pooja Yadav, who work with me, and asked them to come to the flat,” said Prasad in the FIR.When Devi and Yadav came to help Prasad, Shaikh opened the door, verbally abused them and asked why they were there. “Tohid then argued with Prasad, and then he allegedly assaulted Devi and Yadav with the waist belt, pushed them onto the floor and pulled their hair. Devi and Yadav fled, leaving Prasad with the trio, who allegedly continued to punch her,” said a police officer.As Prasad once again managed to flee and run down to the building’s ground floor, shouting for help, Shaikh allegedly chased her and continued punching her until people heard her screams and rescued her.Prasad filed the police complaint after receiving medical assistance.
