‘Starved’ cook reveals life at Saudi diplomat’s house

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Gurgaon: A lady employed as domestic help by a Saudi diplomat was treated badly and given two rotis a day. The diplomat was accused for raping two Nepalese women in his accommodation at Gurgaon.

In an interview to a leading news daily, Neetu, who hails from Darjeeling in West Bengal, revealed how she was also ill-treated, starved and locked up like the two Nepalese women whose ordeal has been in headlines recently. She was the first to alert NGO Maiti India through her friend Anita, about the two trapped Nepalese women who later alleged rape. She told that she got away only by threatening her employer's wife with a knife.

According to newspaper reports, the victim was hired as a female cook at the diplomat's place this year, by a man who is resident of Kerala, namely, Anwar. This man, who got those two Nepalese women, also promised Neetu that she will get Rs 18, 000. "Anwar took me to Gurgaon. He told me that if I worked hard, my salary will be on time," said Neetu.

At the beginning, everything was good but later, things took an ugly turn. "We were given just one roti a day along with some black tea. The family used to eat pre-cooked food and hardly asked me to prepare rice for them," said Neetu.

She also told that she was assured a day off in a week but she never got off and was loaded with more work.

"The other two girls and I were not allowed to talk and were made to sleep in different rooms. The family had dinner twice, at 8pm once and again at 2am. So, we were usually up till 4am washing the utensils and cleaning the living room and kitchen. The employer's wife then woke us up at 6am," Neetu said.

The cook and two Nepalese women were planning to abscond from the dwelling but the diplomat got hint of it, the cook stated. So he held them hostage in a room for two hours.

"I was asked to give them massages on some occasions but I refused. I did not understand their language and they didn't understand ours," the cook revealed.

At the end of a month, Neetu came to the conclusion that she had to leave that place. But she was menaced by them.

One day, she had a word with her spouse. "I took the call and spoke to him. But, as soon as I was done talking, the employer snatched away my mobile phone from me furiously. I was angry and told them that I did not want to work with them anymore," she said.

"The employer's wife abused me and even held a knife to me and threatened to kill me," Neetu said. They asked Anwar to take her from there. "Anwar came and asked me to go downstairs and wait. I packed my bag and went down. I waited for two hours but he did not come. I later called my husband who came and picked me up from the main gate," she said.

"I worked for nearly 25 days and was not paid for even a single day. I will approach a court if I do not get my pending salary," Neetu said.

Neetu stated that she went to both Nepal and Saudi embassies for help but she was ignored.

(With inputs from HT)