The victim spent months trapped in three homes in the US state of Missouri. Police descended upon a home on a rural highway in St Charles County and later arrested Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha, and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa. They have been charged with offences including human trafficking, kidnapping, and assault.
Authorities were dispatched to investigate the home after a concerned citizen became aware of the victim’s situation and called 911.
The victim is safe and being treated at a hospital for multiple bone fractures, lacerations, and injuries covering his entire body, said prosecutor Joe McCulloch.
The men locked the student in a basement for over seven months and forced him to sleep on an unfinished floor without access to a bathroom. He was beaten with various objects and forced to scavenge for scraps in nearby restaurant dumpsters.
McCulloch described the treatment as “absolutely inhumane and unconscionable” at a news conference on Thursday.
Sattaru was identified as the ringleader and lives in the O’Fallon home with his wife and children. He is additionally charged with human trafficking for the purpose of slavery and contributing to human trafficking through misuse of documentation.
The victim had come to the US from India with hopes of studying at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. Instead, he was taken to Sattaru’s homes beginning in April and forced to work long hours for Sattaru’s IT company.
If the student did not complete the tasks properly, he was severely beaten. McCulloch commended the citizen who made the rescue possible, urging others to report suspicious activities.
Because the suspects are wealthy and have political connections in India, they are being held at the St. Charles County Jail without bond.
Neighbours in O’Fallon and Defiance were shocked by the arrests and expressed disbelief at the allegations.
Police were initially denied entry to the home, but the 20-year-old eventually came running from the basement, heavily scarred and suffering from bruising and swelling all over his body.
