Maid for trouble

Domestic help runs away after one night; locks family inside house. Cops say 'fake' agencies duping customers is a growing trend

Maid for trouble

Domestic help runs away after one night; locks family inside house. Cops say 'fake' agencies duping customers is a growing trend

If you thought hiring a domestic help from a 'registered' placement agency was safe, think again.

Thirty-year-old Dharmendra Singh paid for a maid from one such agency, but the girl not only ran away after the first night at his home, she also locked him and his family inside their house before doing so. The agency,
which had provided a 'fake' registration number, cannot be traced. And Singh has lost the commission of around Rs 10,000 that he paid the agency.

Worse, cops say this is a growing trend.

"On October 26, after sourcing its contact details from a newspaper advertisement, I rang up the agency. A person, who identified himself as Diwakar, received the call. He agreed to provide me a maid and even bring her to my residence at Rohini. Upon enquiring about his office address, he told me it is in Tughlakabad," said Singh, who is working as an assistant manager with Indian Oil Corporation.

According to cops, the same evening, a person named Rozan Thapa, who claimed to be from the agency, came to Singh's house with a maid named Sangita Lama. "After talking to them, I came to know the girl was from Jalpaiguri and Thapa was from Darjeeling. I asked for a copy of the agreement that had to be signed between me and the agency regarding the maid's service details. I also asked to see the registration certificate of the agency. But Thapa said he was not carrying the documents with him and would bring them over to me the next morning. Trusting him, I made a cash payment of Rs 11,200 to Thapa. Thereafter, he left, leaving the girl at my residence. After dinner, we went to sleep. The girl slept in the living area. The next morning when we woke up around 7, we did not find the girl in the house. Later, we realized the front door of our house had been locked from outside. Somehow, we managed to get out of the house. The watchman told us he had seen a girl leaving our house at 5 am," said Singh.

But Singh's plight didn't end there. Cops said having confirmed the maid had run away, Singh called the owner of the placement agency but he did not respond.

"Later in the day, the agency owner answered my call and said he would provide me with a new maid. He promised to call me back in 30 minutes. However, he did not call. When I called him back there was no response. I kept trying his telephone number for several days but there was no response," said Singh.

When MiD DAY tried to get in touch with the owner of the placement agency, the two telephone numbers provided on the payment receipt (given to Singh against the payment made to Thapa) went unreachable.

Growing trend

According to senior police officials, however, Singh is not the lone sufferer. Cops say such cases have become rampant these days.

"The modus operandi of these fake placement agencies is very simple. These agencies are not registered and advertise in leading newspapers, promising to provide maids. Generally, they provide the address of a far flung area, which people find difficult to reach. The maids are taught how to flee from the house the next morning without stealing anything as this could land them in trouble. They easily make around Rs 10,000 from every deal," said a senior police official from the Hauz Khas Police Station, wishing anonymity.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Atul Katiyar said, "We are looking into the complaint. However, I would advice citizens should stay alert as well. Verifying the antecedents of the maid and getting her verified by the police is advisable. People should trust only reputed placement agencies and personally visit their offices before taking in the maid."

Gang trouble
The Delhi Police in August this year arrested a gang of four for allegedly duping more than 100 customers. The gang was running a placement agency which provided maids to people for anything between
Rs 8,000 and 16,000. The maids used to disappear with cash and other valuables at the very first opportunity. After every such fraud the agency used to immediately change its name and location, thus making it difficult for the victims to locate it.

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