Navi Mumbai: Actress Sambhavna Seth and her husband Avinash Dwivedi helped rescue the sister of their domestic help who was allegedly held captive, assaulted and threatened by her employers, a couple residing in Kharghar. Posting a video on social media, Seth and Dwivedi claimed they had to spend the entire night at the police station to register an FIR.

An FIR was registered against the accused woman advocate Aisha Shaikh and her husband Jaffer Shaikh at Kharghar police station on Thursday. The victim, a 22-year-old woman from West Bengal, alleged that the couple had confined and assaulted her at their apartment in Solitaire building, Sector 35, for 10 days from July 19 to 28, when she refused to work after being overburdened.

The accused have been booked under BNS for wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, and voluntarily causing hurt, among other sections.

The domestic worker was rescued by an NGO member living in the building. Seth and Dwivedi said, “Our house help whom we employed through an agency said her elder sister, similarly employed through the agency, was working in Kharghar, where she had to take care of a couple’s five pet dogs and 13 cats. But she was forcibly confined when she wanted to quit the job... The couple tortured her by not giving food, and assaulted and confined her at their apartment.”

Seth and her husband added, “We informed the agency whose staff went to rescue the girl, but were not allowed entry in the building. Kharghar police also took no action. Later, an NGO member who lives there helped her escape. We took her to Bangur Nagar police station, where a zero FIR was registered.”

Thereafter, the accused Aisha Shaikh reportedly rang Seth and threatened that she will "murder the NGO member and also vandalize the agency's office".

Seth and Dwivedi said, “The domestic worker reached our house in Mumbai around 12 midnight. She was frightened and saying the couple will kill her. Still, she was receiving calls from Kharghar police station as the couple had gone there and demanded she come back. We took her to Bangur Nagar police station where a zero FIR was filed against the accused couple and then the case was transferred to Kharghar police.”