WORKING MUMS BEWARE ! Bangalore: Nanny caught lending baby to beggars
By ketybhagat
@ketybhagat (4123)
India
December 15, 2009 11:42pm CST
Maid admits to hiring out baby Bangalore is known for its outsourcing - from projects to hired killings. But this one went too far and too cruel. A maid hired by an MNC couple rented out their baby for Rs 100 to a racket of beggars on the streets of Bangalore. Early every morning, the couple used to dress their seven month old baby with the finest of all clothes, keep fresh milk and costly eatables ready and leave the child in the hands of a maid who was hired through an established agency. But as soon as the couple left, the maid used to mix sedatives in the milk, remove all the costly clothes and dress the kid in torn and dirty clothes, according to a report in The Times of India. And then he would be picked up by agents who run a flourishing racket of beggars on the streets of Bangalore. For the whole day the drowsy child would be carried by a beggar on her shoulders and dropped back in the evening to the maid's hands. The maid used to spend her time happily watching the serials and movies on the tv and eat all the stuff left behind for the kid. Every day, the couple were surprised and stumped to find their child inactive and drowsy. He never used to play or create a ruckus. One day, the mother of the kid returned home early from work. To her shock, she found the maid in front of the TV and the baby was missing. The maid went into panic and was confronted by the mother of the kid. The maid then confessed and told her that the child had been rented out and would return by evening. The mother was shocked to find her kid come back dressed in tattered and dirty clothes and sleeping on the shoulders of an unknown woman whose job it was to beg daily. Sources say that Bangalore has a flourishing begging racket run by a mafia and the daily earnings run into a few lakhs. The mafia has divided Bangalore into zones and they send out the beggars. By evening, the agents take a huge pie of the earnings and give a few rupees to the beggars, mostly women. Sometimes, targets are fixed for the beggars and if they fail to `achieve' the sales target, they are sacked.
Its sad but true, and we working mothers must be more than careful with the maids or nanies that we hire to babysit our kids.
2 people like this
12 responses
@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
16 Dec 09
Hi Ketybhagat,
That's horrible. I'll not allow it to happen with my kids. there's similar cases herein our country too. we working couples are forced to hire nannies for our kids. it's really hard to trust but you have to establish it with them. you have to train them and make sure there is a way for you to trace her roots so that it will be easier for you to find her if ever problem arises. thanks god that we are lucky enough to have a good, reliable and dependable nanny/child caregiver.
This is a great challenge and dilemma for of the parents who are busy earning for a living for the family...
1 person likes this
@ketybhagat (4123)
• India
17 Dec 09
Hi ms, can you believe it, she came from a reputable agency. It is so difficult to know a persons mind, for in front of the parents she must have behaved very well, and after they had gone, she would give the baby to the beggar and enjoy all the food and drinks and watch TV the whole day and be boss of the house. No matter how much we take care of them and establish trust, the mean minded will not appreciate it. Im glad you have a good nanny, but even then, periodic checks and unannounced appearance at times is a must to make sure everything is ok. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
17 Dec 09
thanks for the concern friend. our landlady is always on the lookout for my kids. i always call them and check on what they're doing. yes, i do surprise and unannounced visits.
1 person likes this
@sukiwillbe (218)
• India
17 Dec 09
Horrible... Even I am a workng mom and I cant image something like that done to my baby...The maid should have been beaten up.... Not sure how long will it take to nullify the effects of sedatives given to the baby... pathetic!!! Only positive thing is that they didnt try to ask for a ransom by kidnapping the baby... that would have been even worse...
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
16 Dec 09
it happens in my country too... that's why i had decided not to use nanny and take care of my children on my own... it is safer and give me more satisfaction as well to watch my children grow up... i feel sorry for the baby and hope the nanny will get the punishment that she deserved for doing that... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@ketybhagat (4123)
• India
17 Dec 09
Yes, it is always better to take care of our own kids, but now with growing inflation, it is necessary for both the parents to work to make ends meet. This is one of the unfortunate incidents which came to light. God knows how m any more kids are being used like this. The baby is now safe and that is all that matters.
1 person likes this
@ketybhagat (4123)
• India
17 Dec 09
Hi stephcjh, yes this is one of the incidents that came to light. God knows how many more kids are being used like this. It is sad that both parents have to work to make ends meet these days and thus leave the babies to nannies. Very small babies cannot even be left in daycare centres. They have to be at least 1 1/2 year old. These mafia gangs havea the blessings of politicians and police, so they flourish. Its a sad place for our kids to grow up. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@thesaiyanprince (542)
• India
16 Dec 09
this is insane and that maid should be given the worst possible treatment. she will know when her child is done this way. this is the worst possible thing happen to that poor child. i dont know how the parents could bear it.
@punjab911 (240)
• Canada
16 Dec 09
hey ketybhagat, that is a really bad story. Who in the world would do that? That is just cruel and abnormal and I would kill the nanny if I caught her doing that! Hope this answers! Have a great day and have loads of fun mylotting!
Punjab911
1 person likes this
@4mymak (1793)
• Malaysia
16 Dec 09
i've heard of many 'scary' stories about maids / helpers - but this one certainly tops the chart !!...
i think if i was the mom - i would have beaten up the maid silly!!..
but the 'good side' of this - is that the baby was safely returned to his home every evening - the syndicate could have easily took the baby and do much more harm to him or his family...
true - WE ALL should always be more careful about the safety of our children.. that is why - over here - we often remind each other that if you only have one child - it is probably 'safer' to send him to a nursery/ daycare center, instead of leaving him alone at home with a maid.. it could be more expensive, and not as convenient as having the child at home - but at least, he will have other kidz around, and other adults (caretakers) around as well...
1 person likes this
@ketybhagat (4123)
• India
16 Dec 09
Im sure the mom must have beaten the maid black and blue in order to get her to tell where the baby was. Yes, as you say, the baby could have been kidnapped for ransome, as both the parents are working in MNCs. I totally agree with you, in sending babies to care centres so that they can be much much safer. Maybe we all learn when we get to know of such awful stories. Thanks.
2 people like this
@skysuccess (8858)
• Singapore
20 Jan 10
ketybjgat,
Well, let this be a lesson in parenting then, where we must tell ourselves never take things for granted!
So what:
a) If your maid you hired is from a reputable agency?
How much do you REALLY and TRULY know about the agency's reputation? And your facts are based on?
b) If your maid comes with an impressive resume?
Since when do you walk into a maid agency to find an unfavorable resume of their maids in the agency? Who do you think completed the bio data and resume of the prospective maids?
c) If your maid does not look like someone who will do....?
Since when do we have a crook that has the words "CROOK" spelled across their foreheads? Or, that an innocent look is a guarantee of good character? Haven't you been taught at home and at school about being too trusting?
We are all living in a world of harsh reality and when the time comes for you to leave the baby at home in the trust of your hired maid, could you be afford to be careless?
As if maid misdemeanors are a stranger to all of us, and now we are hiring one to take care a young and tender age member of the family, who barely could communicate to us when they are uncomfortable or hungry. And we are going to leave them in the hands of a barely known "stranger" who is also known as your maid.
I feel that we just cannot afford to be careless and negligent in our ways or we might just put our homes, assets and most of all love ones in dire jeopardy. Like in this incident, this is just one part of the story and I am sure you are no stranger to accounts where babies are actually physically abused in the absence of their loving and working parents.
There is no excuse for carelessness and accounts have shown just how maids can be unreliable, cruel and outright despicable. So, I'd just like to say that if we are ever going to be too trusting and from our cosmic lessons then we are just asking for trouble.
Take care.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
22 Jan 10
omg!
that is quite horrible. i hope this maid was prosecuted to the max
she should get life for like kidnapping and it would not likely happen again. useing a child for that kind of gain is unbelievable. it really is like the dark ages there in india. 
so did you find out what was done to the maid?
that is quite horrible. i hope this maid was prosecuted to the max she should get life for like kidnapping and it would not likely happen again. useing a child for that kind of gain is unbelievable. it really is like the dark ages there in india. so did you find out what was done to the maid?
@srganesh (6340)
• India
16 Dec 09
This news was really shocking to hear.How dare they had the mind to do such evil thing to that little kid?And how the parent's mind should have trembled when they learned what was happening to their kid when they were not around!Crooked people never miss any chance of earning ways.But they should not have chosen this brutal way of exploiting the kids.Let the working moms beware of such people in the furture.
1 person likes this
@ketybhagat (4123)
• India
17 Dec 09
Yes sr, this beats all. It just shows us how exploitation takes place without us knowing it. It was lucky the mom returned early, or she would have never known. Worse, they could have kidnapped the baby as both the parents were well off. The little one was doped to put it to sleep, which is another scary thing. The child could have become addicted to it. It is necessary for parents to make checks on their maids and kids all of a sudden. Its a sad sad world.
1 person likes this
@Pradebal (2)
• India
15 Jan 10
Instead of dicussing about how this incident has shocked all of us, let us talk about what we can do about it. The next time you witness someone begging with an infant scenario, please contact CWC(Child Welfare Commitee) in Bangalore. This may reduce the practice to a great level. Who knows, atleast we can do our bit. Please check the link below for contact details:
http://dwcd.kar.nic.in/dwcd_english/contact.html
1 person likes this
@Pradebal (2)
• India
15 Jan 10
Instead of discussing about how were are all frightened about such incidents, please share your thoughts on what we can do about it. As a minimal, I found this link which has the contact details of CWC(Child Welfare Commitee) in Bangalore. Please share your thoughts on this. Also, please report child begging practices to this department at the instance you witness one. it could atleast minimise the practice.
http://dwcd.kar.nic.in/dwcd_english/contact.html
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