New Delhi:
The doctor-couple, accused of illegally confining and assaulting their domestic help, has said that they are willing to pay Rs 75000 as compensation to the teenager. The couple's remand in police custody has also been extended to three days now.
The court has also asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to conduct an independent probe into the case.
Sanjay and Sumita Verma are accused of locking up their 13-year-old help from Jharkhand in their home while they vacationed abroad. She was rescued after she managed to climb onto the balcony of their home and shouted for help. She was badly bruised and says her employers used CCTV cameras to monitor what she ate. If she helped herself to anything other than the two rotis she was allowed everyday, she says they would beat her. The minor girl had been working with the couple for the past eight months.
The police had missed the point of their return to India from Thailand on March 30. A lookout notice at airports was issued on April 1, after the couple had returned to Delhi. The lawyer for the doctors said his clients were back in town from a holiday abroad but were hoping to get anticipatory bail. That request was denied.
The couple was arrested earlier this week, after apparently being found by the police in Dwarka. They were tracked down by the police to a relative's house where they were hiding.
Their lawyer has pointed out that medical reports show that the teenager is not malnourished. He also says the couple had given the teenager a key and that she probably locked herself into the house by accident.
The NGO looking after the teenager says that her mother is expected soon in Delhi. Social workers worry that the doctors may try to influence her to report positively on them.