Noida: After Mahagun Moderne mob violence, society bans ‘Bangladeshi’ maids

In the backdrop of the mob violence on Wednesday morning, the residents of the Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78 have decided not to allow ‘Bangladeshi’ domestic helps in the society.

As the society has no residents’ welfare association (RWA), the decision of debarring the maids was taken by the ‘active residents’ of the society. Facility management was informed about the decision which in turn issued a notice.

Read | Mayhem in Noida’s Mahagun Moderne society after maid is ‘beaten up’

Residents said that the society has 2,750 flats in its 16 high-rise and four low-rise buildings. Ninety percent of them are occupied. Many houses have Bangladeshi domestic helps.

“Every individual in the society is scared after Wednesday’s incident. There is no way they can trust the Bangladeshi domestic helps anymore. We will clear their dues and take the help of an agency that provides domestic helps. Children were frightened to see the ugly situation,” said Dr Amit Sachdeva.

Residents also said most of the inhabitants used to get domestic helps through the security guards, who knew the maids.

“As a standard practice, we used to give forms to the maids and tell them to get them verified from the police. After verification, entry passes were issued. There is record of the entry and exit of society visitors and the helps. None of us knew such a situation would arise. Those who pelted stones work only in this society and it shows none of us are safe. It can happen to us also,” said Brijesh Singh, a resident.

However, after the situation was brought under control, some residents tried to give entry to the maids, but were stopped. Residents said they will contact an agency that can assure safety.

“We want the police and administration should intervene into the matter. In future, this will become a culture in Noida and residents will have no say. From rape to assault, every allegation was levelled against the residents of our housing society. Every person on the side of the maid has their own version. This can turn dangerous,” said Vibhuti Chaudhary, a resident.

Meanwhile, Abdul Sattar, husband of Zora Bibi, who was allegedly beaten up and held at the employer’s house, said people in his community were perturbed as his wife was missing. They had only gone to enquire about Zora’s whereabouts, he said.

“When we asked the security guards of the society, they used batons on us. Everyone was injured and we resorted to stone-pelting in self defence. We were threatened by them that they would kill us. We know the chaos would make the women jobless, but oppression cannot be tolerated by anyone in the society,” said Sattar.