London: An Indian woman has claimed she was kept as a slave and beaten while working as a nanny for a senior Government lawyer.

Widow Pratima Das alleges she was a victim of human trafficking who ended up being abused for four years while at the home of Shibani Rahulan — principal legal adviser at the Department of Health.

Rahulan, however, has denied exploiting the 43-year-old and has produced photos of the nanny at family gatherings and holidays which, she says, prove she was not kept under duress.

The allegations were revealed on Friday as Das's lawyers argued at the Appeal Court it should overturn an Employment Tribunal's decision not to hear her original case because she was "out of time".

Her counsel, Ian Wheaton, told the hearing that Das, who is illiterate in both her own language and English, had been a victim of human trafficking when she was brought to London from India in 2004. He said: "It is her case that she was treated as a slave, her passport was confiscated and she was forced to work 15 hour days.

"She was prevented from eating with the family — reduced to sitting on the floor eating the respondent family's leftover food.

"She was effectively held in captivity only able to make short trips to a nursery and she was threatened with violence if she tried to speak to other people."

‘Violent altercation'

Wheaton said "events crystallised" in June 2008 when she and her employers were involved in a "violent altercation" and she managed to escape from the family home in Harrow, North-West London. She went to hospital and then to the police claiming she had been assaulted.

Das — who now lives in Southampton — then spent many months seeking legal advice but was "hindered by administrative delays".

This initially saw her file an original Employment Tribunal action 42 days late which was ruled out of time. She was then a further 80 days late in applying to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The court heard Das was from a ‘low caste' family in India and had been told she would be paid £100 (Dh580) a month for working which should have been paid directly to her family abroad in rupees.

Das is currently seeking permission to stay in Britain permanently.

Rahulan and her current partner Rex Waldron hit back at her claims. In a statement for the family, Waldron said: "Miss Das said when she was sacked, "I will make you regret this for the rest of your life", — and she's lived up to that threat.