Click to play videoNew Delhi: A federal court in New York on Friday sentenced the wife of an Indian-American millionaire to 11 years in prison and fined $ 25,000 for torturing and beating her Indonesian maids.
Forty six-year-old Varsha and her husband Mahendra Murlidhar Sabhnani, an international perfume maker, were taken into custody in December 2007 after one of their maids, managed to flee and landed up in a shop nearby. Local shopkeepers rescued her and informed the police.
The couple was convicted under charges of forced labour, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harbouring illegal aliens.
The victims testified that they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, and forced to take freezing showers as punishment.
The Sabhnani's counsel, however, argued that Varsha's behaviour was due to a medical condition.
"All of her chemistry and all of her blood results showed that she was chemically out-of-whack and the doctors have concluded that that causes a tremendous change in your personality," Defence Attorney Jeffrey Hoffman said.
Although Varsha was identified as the main culprit, 51-year-old Mahendra Sabhnani, who is out on bail now, is waiting for his sentence, which will be pronounced next Friday.
The couple's conviction last year was followed by widespread protests by the American domestic worker community.
“So many in this country may think of these women as just domestic workers, we are here to say to everyone that they are also our mothers and our sisters and our grandmothers; they are human beings,” Domestic Worker Advocate, Reverend Allan Ramirez said.
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