Workers at Mahagun Moderne Society claim they are unable to sleep for fear of being arrested by police.
Days after the incident, domestic workers at Mahagun Moderne Society are still in a state of shock. But very quickly, the shock turns to anger, then fear, as they recount the trauma they have faced.
"We have not been able to sleep since Wednesday, as we fear detention. Every time I hear the noise of a vehicle, I rush into a nearby field and hide myself. Who will take care of my wife and children if they detain me," says Abdul Sattar, husband of Zohra Bibi, sitting in their tin sheet and bamboo hut in a slum cluster, located some hundred-odd meters from the posh housing society, located in Noida's sector-78.
Sattar is still recovering from the traumatic event on Tuesday, when his wife Zohra Bibi went missing within the society. When she did not come home in the night, a mob comprising domestic workers and daily labourers, mostly from West Bengal's Cooch Bihar and Malda districts, vandalised the entrance of the residential society in search of her. Zohra alleged that she was assaulted and held captive by her employers over a dispute related to payment. The employers, however, deny this.
Meanwhile, the police have made 13 arrests among the community, a fact that has filled Sattar and others living in this slum cluster with fear. "We are as much Indian just like those rich people living in these posh societies," the domestic helper says angrily. For him, the city will never be the same again, and he, along with his wife and three minor children, will relocate once the matter settles down.
Zohra too is angry and upset with the media attention. Pressed several times, she says, "I will never go back to that society again." She also seconds her husband's view that they should leave.
The anger and fear can be felt all over the slum cluster here. Many of the inhabitants say that they have not stepped out of their rooms since the incident. They also allege that they are being victimised because they belong to a particular faith.
"They called us 'Bangladeshi' just because we were Muslims. It would not have happened if we were Hindus or Christians. We are scared of going anywhere now," said Mamata Bibi, who lives in the slum where Zohra Bibi also lives.
According to domestic workers, residing in both sector-78 and 50 of Noida, they are often labelled as "outsiders" and "Bangladeshis" by their employers.
"As long you keep working silently, you are an Indian, but the moment you raise your voice against any harassment or discrimination, you will be labelled as an 'outsider'," says an angry 27-year-old Babli Bibi, another migrant domestic helper.
Echoing this sentiment, another domestic worker Meena Bibi claimed that discrimination against domestic helpers, hailing from West Bengal, is common in Delhi-NCR. "We have been told that we should be thankful of them as they are giving us employment despite we being outsiders," she said displaying her Aadhaar card.
Meanwhile, in Mahagun Moderne Society, the entry of these domestic helpers continue to remain banned. "We have been instructed not to allow them until the next order from the management comes," the security head of the society said.
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