Manhattan federal Magistrate Judge Frank Maas has directed an Indian lady diplomat to pay a compensation of $ 1.5 million to her former domestic maid servant in the US for inflicting barbaric treatment on her, according to a report published in the New York Post.

The judgment is in response to a petition filed by one Shanti Gurung who served as maid servant to the diplomat Neena Malhotra and her husband Jogesh Malhotra in their Manhattan post apartment.

The daily said, quoting the judgment, that the couple had seized her passport and visa papers and forced her to work without pay for longer hours. They used to extract work from her by constantly warning her that if she travelled on her own without their permission, she would be arrested, beaten, raped and sent back to India as cargo.

Gurung alleged in her suit that in bringing her over to the US in 2006 on a A-3 visa, the diplomat forced her to tell the US embassy in New Delhi that she would be paid $7 per hour. The former maid servant also said in her complaint that she was forced to lie about her age covering her minority at the US Embassy in Delhi.

The judgment should be ratified by senior judge Victor Marrero, who is overseeing the case, the Post said.

The judgment said the first ruling was given in the case so that the papers can be served to the couple who are presently based in Delhi. “The ruling was passed after repeated attempts to reach them failed through all channels,” said the judge in his order. (JUBS)