'Branded with iron, cigarette butts': Chennai couple arrested for murdering teen domestic help

CHENNAI: A 15-year-old domestic help at a house in Aminjikarai died on Diwali day after she was repeatedly assaulted and branded with cigarette butts and an iron by the couple who employed her, police said.

Police have arrested used-car vendor Mohammad Nishad, 35, and his wife Nasiya, 32, for the murder. After assaulting the girl, who hails from Thanjavur, the couple locked her in the washroom and left her to die.

After confirming the girl was dead, the couple left the house and stayed at Nishad’s sister’s house in the city.
On Fri day, Nishad told his lawyer about the murder.

The lawyer informed police who went to Nishad’s house at Eden Castle Apartment in Mehta Nagar and recovered the body. An investigating officer said they found cigarette burns all over her body.

Police said investigations showed that the couple treated the girl harshly for more than six months, assaulting her whenever they thought she was ‘slacking’ at work.

Another couple, friends of Nishad, also assaulted the girl when they visited his house on Diwali, police said. Police have detained four more suspects and further investigations are on.

The girl’s mother is a widow and Nishad arranged for the girl to work as a housemaid through his sister. On Saturday, the autopsy on the girl was done at KMC hospital.

Later, police handed over the body to her family. On the family’s request, arrangements are being made for the girl’s cremation at Anna Nagar. Police are awaiting postmortem results to determine the full extent of the assault.
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