Minor domestic help found dead in Chennai home, couple arrested for torture

Police arrested a couple for allegedly torturing their minor domestic help, who was found dead in their house in Chennai.
The accused, identified as Mohammed Nishad, a used car dealer and his wife Nasiya, live in an apartment in Chennai’s Metha Nagar area. They had hired a 16-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur as a domestic help in the house after the girl’s mother had contacted Nasiya.
The couple allegedly found the girl dead inside the bathroom of their house on October 31, following which they locked the bathroom, lit incense sticks to mask the odour and left for their relative’s house.
Nishad informed the Amanjikarai Police about the girl’s death on November 1 through his lawyer, following which a police team was dispatched to his house.
The team recovered the girl’s body and have sent it for postmortem to Kilpauk Medical College. Further action will be taken based on the postmortem report, police said.
Sources said that there were burn marks on the girl’s body, which included burns from cigarette butts, after which the police called the couple for questioning.
Initial investigation revealed that the couple allegedly tortured the girl along with their friend Lokesh on the occasion of Diwali on October 31, when she was found dead.
Both Nishad and Nasiya have been arrested, and a search is on for Lokesh. The police are also waiting for the postmortem report to find out if the girl was sexually assaulted.