In a disturbing incident in Missouri, US authorities have rescued a 20-year-old Indian student who endured months of captivity, brutal beatings, and forced labour at the hands of his cousin and two others. Described as “absolutely inhumane and unconscionable,” the victim was held without access to a bathroom, subjected to vicious assaults, and made to work at three different homes. The accused, Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha, and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa, were arrested and charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, and assault.
The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, is currently receiving medical treatment for multiple fractures, lacerations, and injuries covering his entire body. The accused confined him in a basement for over seven months, forcing him to sleep on an unfinished floor without bathroom access. The victim resorted to scavenging for food in restaurant dumpsters and faced relentless beatings with various objects, including electrical wire, PVC pipe, metal rods, wooden boards, sticks, and a water hose.
The defendants, identified as the ringleader Venkatesh R Sattaru, Sravan Varma Penumetcha, and Nikhil Verma Penmatsa, subjected the student to confinement and abuse at three different homes. Sattaru, the alleged mastermind, is additionally charged with human trafficking for slavery and contributing to human trafficking through misuse of documentation. Authorities revealed that the student, who came to the US from India with hopes of studying, was instead trapped in a cycle of forced labour, severe beatings, and inhumane conditions since April 2023. The three accused are being held without bond due to their wealth and political connections in India.
