A case had been registered by Neelankarai All Women Police in Chennai against Pallavaram MLA Karunanithi’s son Anto Mathivanan and daughter-in-law Marlina Anne for torturing an 18-year-old-girl, who was employed as their domestic help, but the police were yet to take action against them, said A. Kathir, executive director, Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, here on Friday.
Addressing a press conference, in the presence of the girl and her mother, Mr. Kathir said the State government should direct the police not to delay taking action against the accused. Scheduled Caste people had been targeted repeatedly and atrocities against SC women and girls were increasing, he said.
In an interview with The Hindu, the girl testified that she was promised educational aid and a job as domestic help at Ms. Marlina’s house for a monthly salary of ₹16,000. She, a minor back then, had taken the job only because of the financial difficulties faced by her family.
The girl claimed that instead of giving her the promised aid, her employers physically harassed her for eight months and assaulted her with slippers and broomsticks. She was also seared with cooking utensils on several parts of body. Further, she said, her phone was seized and she was not allowed to meet her mother.
“I have not received my salary till now. When my mother questioned them about this, she was told that they had paid ₹2 lakh for my education and that I was attending classes online. In reality, I have not attended even a single class. I was not even provided proper food and was forced to live off boiled ration rice,” she added. She was also accustomed to casteist slurs and derogatory remarks from her employer, she said.
Based on a complaint, Ulundurpet police had issued a CSR and forwarded it to Neelankarai police on January 16. The girl was also directed to undergo medical examination at Ulundurpet Government Hospital.
Evidence urged swift action against the perpetrators. “The girl should be given proper education and a significant amount as monetary compensation for her plight. Her mother should also be given a life-long salary of ₹15,000,” Mr. Kathir said.
He further said the girl should be provided the right to engage her own public prosecutor in court and the IPC sections invoked in the case should be non-bailable, he demanded.
