The Tamil Nadu Police on Friday filed a case against the son and daughter-in-law of a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLA for allegedly beating up and verbally abusing a Dalit domestic worker whom they had employed, PTI reported.
The domestic worker, an 18-year-old woman, had been working at the home of a man named Anto Mathivanan and his wife Marlina. Mathivanan is the son of DMK MLA I Karunanithi.
The woman alleged that the couple would physically assault in “whatever way they wished to”, India Today reported. She also said that she was not paid her wages.
The woman said that the couple burned her hand with a hair straightener after she could not wake up one day to cook their meals.
The matter came to light after the 18-year-old was dropped off at her home during the Pongal festival. Her family members took her to a hospital, where authorities saw injuries on her body.
A woman police inspector from Chennai’s Neelangarai police station then visited her at the hospital. Based on the woman’s complaint, a case has been registered and investigations are on.
Karunanithi denied the allegations against his son and daughter-in-law and claimed that the domestic worker was “kept well”. The MLA claimed that “someone in the background” was getting her to make the allegations.
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