The BJP on Tuesday suspended its Jharkhand leader Seema Patra amid allegations that she confined her household help and brutally tortured her, according to NDTV report. Patra was a member of the national working committee of the BJP's women wing. Her husband, Maheshwar Patra, is a retired IAS officer.
Jharkhand BJP chief Deepak Prakash ordered the action against Patra after videos of her domestic help accusing her of torture went viral.
In the videos that have surfaced online, the woman, Sunita, is seen on a hospital bed. Several of her teeth are seen missing, and she is incapable of sitting up. The injury marks on her body point to repeated instances of assault, local media reports said.
Sunita, now 29, is from Gumla in Jharkhand and was employed by the Patras about 10 years ago. Their daughter Vatsala was moving to Delhi for work and Sunita went along as her help. About four years ago, Vatsala and Sunita returned to Ranchi.
The woman's sister and brother-in-law had been reportedly informed of her suffering, but they refused to take her in.
According to reports, it was Patra's son Ayushman who narrated Sunita's situation to a friend and asked him for help. His friend then registered a police complaint, following which Sunita was rescued.
'Forced to drink urine, wasn't given food or water'
Post she was rescued, Sunita said that Seema Patra used to regularly thrash her and also forced her to lick urine, clean the floor with her tongue, and even branded her with a hot pan and broke her teeth.
“She used to thrash me with an iron rod, belt and also brand me with a hot pan,” Sunita narrated the ordeal in a groggy state.
"Seema did not even give me food and water and she was kept locked in the room all throughout," she added.
Sunita is now undergoing treatment at RIMS in Ranchi.
'Massive condemnation by Opposition leaders'
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) slammed the BJP for Seema Patra's torture on Sunita.
Priyanka Chaturvedi in a tweet wrote, "A maid who was working at BJP leader Seema Patra's house, suffered dozens of injuries on her body after she was allegedly burnt with a hot pan by her owner. This is horrifying and shameful. What power trip are these BJP leaders on?"
While, TRS leader sharing the video said, "This is how BJP National Working Committee leader Seema Patra tortured a tribal girl for 8 years ... "
