Noida woman, who held maid hostage, arrested

Prior to her arrest, the woman had claimed that she did not mistreat her help nor did she keep her at home against her will

The Noida police have arrested a woman resident of a posh society on charges of assaulting and keeping her domestic help hostage for nearly two months, officials said on Thursday.

"Shefali Koul, who lives in the Cleo County society in Sector 121, was held on Wednesday evening from her residence," a police spokesperson said.

A purported video of the 40-year-old Koul dragging her 20-year-old domestic help out of a lift had surfaced two days ago.

Koul was initially booked under Indian Penal Code sections 344 (illegal confinement beyond 10 days), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (insult), the police said.

“Now charges under IPC 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have also been added in the case,” an official of the local Phase 3 police station told PTI.

Koul, a lawyer by profession, was on Thursday afternoon taken to a local court, the official added.

Prior to her arrest, Koul had claimed that she did not mistreat her help nor did she keep her at home against her will.

According to the help's father, who lodged a complaint with the police, his daughter had a six-month work contract with Koul which ended on October 31.

“After the contract ended, my daughter wanted to leave her place but she did not allow her. She kept my daughter hostage at her home where she assaulted her and hurled abuses at her,” the domestic help's father alleged.

On Monday, the help even tried to escape from Koul's fourth-floor apartment by using a 'dupatta' as a rope but someone informed the police, prompting a team of emergency 112 service to reach the society, he said.

“My daughter was then brought to the local police station,” the father said, urging the police to lodge an FIR and take legal action in the case.