New Delhi:
BSP MP Dhananjay Singh's wife Jagriti, chargesheeted along with her husband in connection with the murder of their maid, used to give "merciless beatings" to her three domestic helps, Delhi Police has said.
In its charge sheet filed before a Delhi court, the police said that Jagriti, a dental surgeon at a government hospital, "compelled" the servants to work by holding them captive and the domestic helps were not allowed to go out of the house.
"Accused Jagriti Singh has been seen giving merciless beatings to all the three servants working at 175, South Avenue, New Delhi at different dates, time (even at odd hours) and places and compelled them to work day and night by holding them captive in the house as they were never allowed to go outside the premises of the said house," the police said in the charge sheet.
The police has chargesheeted Jagriti for various offences punishable under the IPC, including sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 344 (illegal confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (destruction of evidence).
Dhananjay, a sitting BSP MP from Jaunpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, has been chargesheeted for various offences under the IPC, including allegedly destroying the evidence and abetting the offence of murder and attempt to murder.
Both the accused are in jail, and the matter has been fixed for tomorrow for consideration on the charge sheet filed by the police on February 1.
The police, in its charge sheet, have alleged that the MP and his wife might have "tampered" with the data of the CCTV cameras installed at 175, South Avenue, where the incident took place.
"...It was observed that both Dhananjay Singh and Jagriti Singh might have tampered with the data contained in DVRs as the same were removed from their original place," it said.
The couple were arrested on November 5 last year in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.
Bhadra's body, with injury marks on her legs, chest and arms, was recovered from Dhananjay's South Avenue residence here on the evening of November 4 last year.
The police further alleged in the charge sheet that the couple was in constant touch with each other through phone calls. As per the call detail records between April 1, 2013 to October 30, 2013, Jagriti had called Dhananjay more than 1,000 times while the MP had called his wife over 150 times.
It claimed that during the probe, it was revealed that Jagriti used to beat the three domestic helps with metallic deer horns, wooden sticks and iron press.
The police said that footage of CCTV cameras installed at 175, South Avenue, was shown to the other two servants, who were employed at Jagriti's house, and they "identified accused Jagriti Singh, themselves and other domestic help namely Rakhi Bhadra (deceased), while Jagriti was seen inflicting beating on all three domestic helps."
Referring to the statements given by the witnesses, it claimed that Dhananjay was told about the behaviour of Jagriti towards the servants but he did not take any "constructive step" in the matter.
The police also said that the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, which was invoked against both the accused, was "removed from the case" as medical reports of one of the servants, who was purportedly a minor, showed that he was aged between 19 and 20 years.
Along with the charge sheet, hard disc of CCTV cameras installed at Jagriti's residence, where the incident allegedly took place, statements of 76 prosecution witnesses and 118 documents were also filed before the court.
Dhananjay, who also faces charges of murder and offences under the UP Gangsters Act, was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence, not informing the police about the maid's death immediately and employing a juvenile as domestic help.
