A senior official of Reserve Bank of India and his wife have been arrested on charges of torturing their 15-year-old maid, who is in a critical condition in a hospital after escaping from the couple's house.

The maid, Manjari Naik, was not given food and water for two days and kept confined by the couple after which she escaped on Thursday night by climbing down a rainwater pipe from the couple's flat, police said.

The caretaker of the housing complex noticed her climbing down and gave her shelter for the night. He accompanied her to the Alipore police station yesterday, where she narrated her ill-treatment at the hands of RBI Deputy General Manager, Sriprakash Mishra, and his wife, sources said.

The girl, who was employed by the couple in 2007, was rushed to the Calcutta Medical Research Institute's high dependency unit (HDU).

"There are marks of injuries on her left eye and bruises on several parts of the body. She may have suffered internal haemorrhage," doctors said.

They said that she was also suffering from malnutrition and anaemia.

Mishra and his wife were arrested and produced in a local court yesterday which granted them bail.