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.

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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.