Sanjay Verma and his wife Sumita had returned to the country a day after the incident came to light last Thursday but were in hiding.
A doctor couple, who allegedly left their 13-year-old maid locked up and starving in their house while vacationing in Thailand, were arrested from west Delhi on Wednesday, a week after the victim was rescued by the police.
Sanjay Verma and his wife Sumita had returned to the country a day after the incident came to light last Thursday but were in hiding and were arrested from near Lifestyle mall in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden at around 2:30 pm, 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.
A case was registered against the couple under the Juvenile Justice Act, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act and under sections 323 (hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 370 ( Buying or disposing of any person as slave) and 374 (unlawful compulsary labour) of Indian Penal Code.
"The couple had returned to India on March 30. They were in hiding as there were reports about the child. We got a tip off about their presence in Rajouri Garden and they were arrested," Ojha said.
Soon after their arrest this afternoon, Sanjay and Sumita were produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Ruchika Singla in Dwarka courts who sent them to two days police custody. The couple will now be produced before the court on Saturday.
Police sought the custody of the couple to investigate how the maid was kept locked in the house when they had gone to Bangkok.
A senior police official said 15 police teams were working on the case and the couple's close relatives had also been tracked. A look out notice was issued against the couple on April 2 as police was under the impression that they had not returned to the country.
Yesterday, 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 installed CCTVs inside the house to keep a close watch on her movements, the girl alleged.
If they found her committing even small mistakes, they used to beat her up, she complained to the Committee.
Through their lawyer, the couple had denied the allegations in the court while moving the anticipatory bail application.
Verma's brother Sandeep claimed that the couple were victims of circumstances. "We took the maid from a placement agency (in Punjabi Bagh) and my brother asked about the age and when she told us she is 18, we took her," he claimed.
Sandeep claimed that the doctor couple had wanted to a shift the girl to a relative's house in their absence but she had insisted on staying back, saying she could watch television and enjoy. A housekey was given to her, he said.
Meanwhile, police said they will conduct searches at the flat after taking the couple there.
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