NGO owner Sachdev held for extorting money from couple

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Wednesday has arrested Sanjoy Sachdev, chairman of NGO Love Commandos in Paharganj for threatening and extorting money from a couple.

The arrest came after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Tuesday inspected the shelter home run by the NGO and rescued eight youth.

DCW in their press statement claimed that it was observed that the NGO founder was indulged in illegal confinement and extortion of the couples behind the façade of providing a "safe home" to the victims. It was learnt that four couples were staying there who had married against the wishes of their parents. All four couples were being ill-treated, illegally confined by force and were forced to pay huge arbitrary sums as 'fees'.

The residents informed that the NGO founder would often get drunk at night and used to misbehave with the girls and would force the boys to drink alcohol with him. If anyone was suffering from any illness, the staff refused to take them to a doctor.

A boy, who contacted n with typhoid thrice in his stay at the home informed that he was not given proper medication.

All identity proofs, qualification proofs and mobile phones of the residents were seized by the staff. There was no female staff in the home and the male staff used to check the bags and even undergarments of the girls on their entry into the home.

The residents were made to do all the work of the home including cleaning and cooking and were made to even do odd personal jobs of the staff.

There were two small rooms in the home where the couples were staying and the girls' room were inter-connected to the room of the owner. The girls informed that they used to feel very uncomfortable. Chairperson DCW, Swati Maliwal said, "The couples facing the threat of honour killing in our nation undergo immense trauma. For an NGO to extort and abuse from these vulnerable young persons in the name of help is extremely shameful and tragic"

According to DCW official, if any person would try to leave, they would be threatened and made to believe that they will be killed if they leave the premises or they would be sent to jail. The victims informed that the owner would threaten leaking their whereabouts to their families (from whom they are receiving threats of honour killing) if they ventured out of the home. The owners even threatened to destroy their documents including their marriage certificates.

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR under Sections 342, 384,506,509 and 34 of IPC in the matter.

A senior officer told that they arrested Sachdev who was the former media advisor of Union Minister Ram Bilas Paswan.