Domestic Help Alleges Physical Torture By DMK MLA's Son; Case Filed

In a shocking incident, an 18-year-old girl was allegedly physically assaulted by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA Karunanithi’s son and daughter-in-law. The girl was working as a domestic help at the son's house in Chennai to meet the expenses of the coaching institute for the medical entrance examination NEET. 

As per reports, the son, Anto Mathivanan and the daughter-in-law, Marlina, have been accused of torturing and denying medical help to the girl. The police have booked Mathivanan. 

The girl belongs to a scheduled caste. She is a student of Class XII and is working as a domestic help so that she can gather money to pay for coaching classes for NEET. She got the work through an agent and has been working in the house for seven months. In a video shared by Evidence- a non-profit organisation- narrated her ordeal. She said that the couple "physically assaulted" her in whichever way they wanted to. 

Narrating a painful incident, the girl broke down and said, "Even if I don’t do the smallest task properly, they would slap me on my face. Once, they asked me to prepare food by 6 am because they were going out of town. I hadn’t slept till 2 am the previous night. Nobody can survive without sleeping. I could only get up by 7 am. Because I couldn’t keep the food ready, they burnt my hands using a hair straightener.”

The girl also alleged that the couple never took her to the hospital no matter how much she was hurt or bleeding. She had to treat herself. She further said that the couple threatened her that no one would help her if she told anything about them to others because of their political background. 

#Dalit Minor girl wanted to save some money for Neet coaching as she was good in studies and wanted to become a doctor. She was asked to join as a domestic help at Pallavaram (near Chennai) DMK MLA Karunanidhi's son's home where she was made to work from morning 6 am to 1.30 am… pic.twitter.com/MVMktMUXcH

— Shalin Maria Lawrence (@TheBluePen25) January 19, 2024

DMK MLA denies the allegations

However, Karunanithi has dismissed the allegations saying that his son's family treated the girl well and only “pulled her up up after she did something wrong." He also said that his son and daughter-in-law helped the girl in her studies and bought her jewellery. He also shared that he has a video of a birthday party arranged by them for the girl. 

“I usually don’t go there (Mathivanan’s house). The girl had apparently done something wrong, and they pulled her up for that. They are helping her to study, she is taking online classes. They have also got her jewellery and other things,” he added.

Police's reaction

When the girl went to her family for the Pongal holidays, her family noticed the wounds and marks of torture. She was taken to a government hospital where the doctor noticed injury marks and even cigarette burns. Suspecting torture, the doctor alerted the police. 

The Neelangkarai police in the city on Friday registered a case against Pallavaram MLA Karunanidhi’s son Ando Mathivanan and his wife Merlina Ann for abusing an 18-year-old Dalit girl who was employed at their house for domestic help.

Ando and Merlina have been registered under 5 sections of the IPC. “A case has been filed under 5 sections of the IPC including the Prevention of Atrocities Act, Child Protection Act, Obscenity, Intimidation, and Assault", a senior police officer said.

DMK MLA has said that he has no connection with the case as he rarely visits the house. He also added that the injury marks were there on the body of the girl before she joined the couple as a house help. The doctor has said that the injuries are old and the truth can be found only when the investigation begins.