advertisement
(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of sexual and physical violence. Reader discretion advised.)
Five days after an 18-year-old Dalit domestic worker alleged that she was abused, assaulted, and tortured by her employer – Antho Mathivanan, the son of DMK MLA I Karunanithi, and his wife Marlena Ann – the Chennai Police is yet to make any arrests, sources confirmed to The Quint.
What did the police say? According to police sources, both accused are allegedly absconding, and a search is underway to arrest them.
FIR details: A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Mathivanan and Marlena on 19 January under section 3 of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (Punishments for offences atrocities), section 294(b) (obscene acts), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 325 (causing grievous hurt), and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Pallavaram MLA Karunanithi distanced himself from the incident, and told to The Quint that "he was unaware of the whereabouts of his son and daughter-in-law as he was not in contact with them."
What happened? In a complaint written to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) on 18 January, the 18-year-old alleged that she was tormented by the MLA's son and daughter-in-law for nearly eight months in Chennai.
A native of Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu, roughly 200 km away from Chennai, the complainant said that she secured 433 marks out of 600 in the Class 12 examination and wanted to pursue MBBS by clearing NEET.
However, due to financial constraints, she was forced to take up a full-time job as a domestic worker at Mathivanan's house in Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur in April 2023. With a monthly salary of Rs 16,000, the complainant said she wanted to save money for her NEET coaching.
The complainant claimed that she was not paid her wages, was allegedly prevented from communicating with her family, and was denied medical attention when she suffered injuries following the alleged assaults.
According to the survivor, she was threatened with dire consequences if she opened up about her situation to anyone.
Speaking to The Quint over a phone call, MLA Karunanithi said:
"Anyone who has done something wrong has to be punished. Let the police act against anyone who committed the crime, I have no issues. I will not interfere," added the two-time DMK MLA.
When did the incident come to light? The incident came to light on 15 January when Mathivanan and Marlena dropped the girl home in Ulundurpet to celebrate Pongal, after multiple requests from the survivor's mother.
The girl was then to a hospital in Ulundurpet by her family. During her medical examination, the doctors found 'severe injuries', based on which the police officials were alerted.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)