A doctor couple, who allegedly left their 13-year-old maid locked up and starving in the house while they vacationed in Thailand, were arrested on Wednesday, a week after the victim was rescued by the police, and sent to two days in police remand.
The police sought two days' custody of the couple to investigate how the maid was kept locked in the house when they had gone to Bangkok.
Sanjay Verma and his wife Sumita had returned to the country a day after the incident came to light but were in hiding and were arrested from near Lifestyle mall in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden following a tip off, A K Ojha, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-West), said.
Police claimed that the couple had locked the minor girl in their flat on March 25 when they left the country for vacation in Thailand. The girl, hailing from Jharkhand, was rescued on March 29 after the neighbours saw her crying in the flat's balcony.
Police have lodged an FIR against the couple under the Juvenile Justice Act, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act and IPC.
"We got a tip off about their presence in Rajouri Garden and they were arrested," Ojha said.
A senior police official said 15 police teams were working on the case and had deployed personnel to track the couple's relatives.
On Tuesday, a local court had denied anticipatory bail to them saying that they had acted in an "inhuman" manner.
The victim had also complained to Child Welfare Committee that she was beaten up by the couple even for small mistakes. The couple had also allegedly installed CCTVs inside the house to keep a watch on her.
If they found her committing even small mistakes, they used to beat her up, the girl alleged while giving her statement to the committee.
Through their lawyer, the couple had denied the allegations in the court while moving the anticipatory bail application.
