Varsha & Mahendra Sabhnani - Guilty
Varsha Sabhnani, an Indonesian of Indian origin, and Mahendra Sabhnani, her India-born husband, were today found guilty on all charges pertaining to the illegal detention and abuse of their Indonesian domestic help. Newsday reports:
Mahender Sabhnani looked stunned as the verdict was read. Daughter Pooja started crying. Another daughter, Dakshina, collapsed backwards in her seat. Then Varsha Sabhnani, who had been crying with her head on her husband’s chest, got up and leaned over to help her daughter. At that point, Dakshina screamed, “Papa! Papa! Papa!” The judge immediately cleared the courtroom.
[...]
Jeffrey Hoffman, one of the couple’s lawyers, said, “We’re very disappointed in the verdict. The jury was taken with the histrionics” of the enslaved domestics, who provided detailed testimony about years of abuse and torture at the hands of the Sabhnanis.
No word yet on sentencing or whether the couple’s multi-million dollar home on Long Island will be forfeited by the federal government.
Filed under: Life, News, Newsmakers
Just wondering, if anyone could explain, the Sabhnani’s actions in Indian context. Employing domestic maids in India is a lot more common as I understand.
What would have happened if this had been done in India? Would their actions be condoned and ignored? Just curious that’s all.
Yo mate..I m an Indian,presently living in Australia.These kind of first degree abuses are not common though.But I should say that, most people are friendly towards their workmaids except a full lots of old hags and stereotypes sticking to the hierarchical model.But I seriously doubt that this kind of incident would be publicised.Money controls everything in India including the police and the jury.You can control almost anything.You can kill a person and still be sent on bail.The common lot from a average earning family,should not even think of legally appealing against fucking rich bastards.Post modern India is full of new ideas in business and technology.But the way of social thinking and attitude towards their sub ordinates is yet to change.
It is not possible for any wealthy and successful family to treat domestic help as has been described by the media and the two maids. This testimony needs proper verification.
I feel this is a normal tactics played by most of Mad servants hired form Indonesi and phillipines
it is imposible to hold some one for five good years without their own willingness and when these coule were travelling out side the country for biiz why these mad servan did not report the matter to any one and who stop them from going out and filing the complaint or calling Ploice
Thsi all plot against this coupple and i am sure the agency who has arrnaged these sevants or their faimily memebrs might be behind the issue to extract some ,money from this couple
it sems no one want to see the true picture except what press is showing and we shall see the both sides of the coin
hey,
i really can’t believe anyone cld torture their maids like this.
A proper investigation shd be conducted.
the truth will surface soon.
In NJ - I don’t know whether they would have gotten away with it or not, that largely depends on where they did it and how much attention their behavior received in the press. But in no circumstances would their behavior be condoned.
Rob - you forget the press. If the press gets involved, the way it did in the Sabhnanis case, then definitely they’d have a hard time beating the rap.
Dilip - are you serious? What about wealth and success limits one’s ability to be cruel?
Deen - If you want to defend the Sabhnanis, that’s one thing, but casting aspersions on two whole communities in order to do so is unwarranted and reeks of racism. Btw, Varsha Sabhnani is Indonesian. Of Indian descent but Indonesian.
Ria - there was an investigation. It led to trial and conviction.
These things do happen. Ruth Rendell’s book ‘Simisola” is a fictionalized account of illegal immigrants smuggled into Britain and kept under inhuman conditions for years.
Given power over another, any human being can abuse it, unfortunately.
Dipali - I’ve never been a big ruth rendall fan but i’ll look this one up. thanks