An Indian woman in her late twenties, currently residing in Wellington, has lodged a complaint with police alleging sexual harassment by a former partner who is now threatening to leak their intimate videos and photos to her family in Punjab.
The woman, referred to as Ms A (name withheld), told The Indian Weekender that the harassment has left her mentally shattered.
“He taunted, mocked whenever he told me that he would leak my videos and photos ,” she claimed.
Ms A and her former partner began working together at a Wellington eatery in February 2025. She claimed the situation escalated when the former partner started hurling verbal abuse at her in public and private.
“Prostitute jaa rahi hai...tereko pata hai na kya hai mere pas (Look at the prostitute walking…don’t you know what I have),” she alleges he would say, even when spotting her in public.
Ms A admits that some private videos and photos were taken with her consent during the initial stages of their relationship.
However, she claimed that once she tried to leave due to "physical and verbal abuse," the partner began threatening to leak those intimate moments.
On 19 June, with the support of her employer and a few colleagues, she filed an official complaint with police.
According to a police statement provided to The Indian Weekender, the Police said,
“Police received a complaint relating to this matter on 19 June."
"The complaint has been assessed and will be assigned to a staff member in the relevant workgroup," it added.
"All cases involving sexual harassment are treated very seriously, and Police offer support to the victim," the statement said.
The matter is being treated as a sexual harassment case arising from a family harm incident.
Ms A also claimed that, following the complaint and a series of witness statements, the former partner was suspended from his workplace on 19 June.
‘Worked Like A Slave, Slept On Mats’
Ms A first met her former partner in 2022 while working at the same workplace in India.
She came to New Zealand on an Accredited Employer Work Visa in 2023, just a month after her former partner’s arrival.
“After the passing away of my former partner’s wife, we started bonding and he convinced me to shift with him to New Zealand,” she claimed.
She claimed to have paid 16 lakh INR to the man for her visa process, and upon arrival, moved in with his brother and sister-in-law. While she worked under the same employer, she was initially posted at a different job and location under the same business from her partner.
Though things seemed fine at first, she alleges that she was soon made to “work like a slave” in the household, doing everything from bathing children of the household to preparing meals.
“I was kept from going to work and made to sleep on mats,” she claimed. “He wouldn’t let me go to work because I was the only female employee," the woman's claims added.
Ms A said she was aware her partner was “aggressive and toxic” but stayed quiet out of fear of eviction. She also alleged that his family verbally abused her, claiming they pressured her to stay in the relationship because the partner had “just lost his wife and was dealing with depression.”
“I cooperated because I thought I could fix him,” she said.
“I kept thinking that he does this because he loves me,” she added.
According to her, the breaking point came when she was “slapped three times” by the former partner.
In November 2023, Ms A shifted out of the shared household to escape the situation. However, she claimed the harassment continued even at her new address.
“My former partner used to visit me at the new place and used to sexually harass me,” she claimed.
“I used to say no…but it was forceful”
She claimed that further intimate photos and videos were taken without her consent and that he would enter her bathroom, physically abuse her, and shout at her.
“Despite repeated requests to leave me alone, he kept threatening to tell everything to my father and send him all the videos,” her claims added.
“My father is very sick. If he sees any of those videos, he will go crazy," she said tearing up.
Ms A submitted a formal complaint to her employer along with witness statements after being allegedly assaulted. The employer acted on the complaint, and the former partner was subsequently suspended on 19 June.
“My employer has supported me through this tough journey,” she said.
In her written statement—shared with an HR support provider in New Zealand—Ms A has mentioned three alleged instances of assault.
First, being slapped two times at the former partner’s workplace in 2023. Second, being slapped again in 2024 outside his workplace, in front of his landlord. Third, in 2025, being blackmailed into a physical relationship upon joining the same workplace again.
After the complaint, the former partner was suspended from work, she claimed.
Although the former partner has now been suspended and a police complaint is underway, Ms A said she continues to live in uncertainty. She is now being supported by an NGO.
She claimed she is undergoing physiotherapy sessions for her “sprained shoulder” that has been a result of “arm twists” by the former partner.
“I’ve gone through a living hell,” she said. “I cannot even think of those photos and videos being leaked.”
“Mera kya reh jayega?... (What will be left of me?)” she whispered.