Doctor couple who starved maid sent to judicial custody

A doctor couple, arrested for allegedly leaving their 13-year-old maid locked-up and starving in their flat while vacationing in Bangkok, was on Monday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a Delhi court.

Dr Sanjay Verma and his wife Sumita both were sent to judicial custody along with an alleged middleman, Mahadev, for his alleged role in bringing the girl to Delhi from her village in Jharkhand.

The trio was sent to judicial custody after the Delhi police said it does not need them for further interrogation.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sudhir Kumar Sirohi said, "The accused, Sanjay Verma, Sumita Verma and Mahadev are sent to judicial custody till April 22."

The accused were produced before the court after the expiry of their police custody.

The police last week had sought the custody of Dr Sanjay Verma, his wife and Mahadev on the ground that they wanted to probe the angle of "human trafficking", as a result of which the victim ended up in the capital.

The court earlier had rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the couple, saying they had acted in an "inhuman" manner.

The court had also rejected the couple's attempt to settle the case by offering Rs 75,000 to the minor girl and her family, saying the offence was non-compoundable.

The police, which produced the couple and the alleged middleman after completion of their three-day remand, had told the court that it is still looking for the fourth accused to "complete the chain" through which the girl was brought to Delhi from Jharkhand.