Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party official Seema Patra was on Wednesday arrested in Ranchi for allegedly torturing and confining her domestic worker, ANI reported. A first information report against her has been filed at Ranchi’s Argora police station.
Later in the day, a court sent Patra to police custody till September 12, Public Prosecutor Pradeep Chaurasia told the news agency.
While speaking to mediapersons outside the court, the suspended BJP leader claimed that the allegations against her were false and politically motivated. “I have been implicated,” she claimed.
Videos of the household worker, Sunita, accusing Patra of having tortured her have been shared widely on social media. Sunita, an Adivasi, has been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi.
Several of Sunita’s teeth are missing and she is incapable of sitting up on the hospital bed. She also has several injury marks on her body, which point to repeated physical assault.
On Tuesday, the BJP suspended Patra from the party after the allegations emerged.
Patra was a member of the national working committee of BJP’s women’s wing. Her husband, Maheshwar Patra, is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer.
Seema Patra has been booked under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 325, 346 (wrongful confinement), and 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
On Tuesday, the police had said that Sunita’s statement will be recorded in court once her condition improves.
Sunita is 29 and hails from Gumla in Jharkhand, according to NDTV. Around 10 years ago, she was employed by the Patras.
In the initial four years, Sunita worked in Delhi for Vatsala Patra, the BJP leader’s daughter. The family then shifted to Ranchi. Sunita has alleged that over the next six years, she was subjected to brutal torture by Seema Patra.
In one of the videos, she recounts being beaten up with a hot pan and rods. She was also forced to lick urine off the floor, Sunita has alleged.
Sunita also said that Patra’s son Ayushman helped her. Ayushman, who found out about torture, sought help from a friend. The friend registered a police complaint, following which Sunita was rescued.
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