- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
AN Indian student was reportedly made to work for 15 hours a day for £3.50 an hour at a Tube station café, it was reported on Monday (30).
Blackfriars Crown Court heard that Lina Thakrar and her husband Praful made the student work in dire conditions in the Espresso cafe on the Jubilee Line concourse at Stratford Station.
The student’s condition was discovered when a police officer spotted her working behind the counter barefoot.
The student, whose name has not been revealed, came to the UK in 2012 to pursue a master’s degree and asked to shadow Lina in a bid to improve her English language skills.
She met Lina in October 2013 at a temple they both worshipped.
Lina asked the woman for her passport to make a copy citing safety issues.
The woman said: “She asked for my passport for safety, because it was a safety thing.
“I gave my passport copy and she took it and must have it even now. She lies and she takes everybody’s passport copy and keeps them and when you try to run away they threaten you that they will tell the immigration, she is a sweet talker.”
Julian Winship, prosecuting, said the woman had agreed to work for two to three hours a day for free to improve her English by interacting with customers.
But two weeks into the job, Lina suggested she work every day from 10 am till 1 am, with two timed toilet breaks.
The woman took meals standing at the counter and the cost of the food was deducted from her pay.
The couple used the woman’s immigration status to make her continue working in the cafe.
Winship told the court: “The police acted upon the information and arrested the defendants on 11 August 2017.
“Lina Thakrar chose to answer each of the questions that she was asked, ‘no comment’.
“Praful Thakrar gave the police a pre-prepared statement before then going on to answer each of the questions ‘no comment’.
“In that statement he said that he did not recall Ms Patel working for him and that, by reason of the time that had passed, he did not know who she was.”
The Thakrars deny forced labour.
The trial continues.
