An 18-year-old girl, who was employed as domestic help at the house of the son of a ruling party MLA in Chennai, has alleged that she was physically tortured for several months and intimidated besides being denied medical care.
A video testimony of the girl, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, from Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district, narrating how she was tormented by the MLA’s daughter-in-law was shared by Evidence, a Madurai-based organisation that works for the cause of the Dalits.
According to the testimony of the girl, after she completed her Class XII, through an agent she joined as domestic help at the house of Marlina and Anto Mathivanan in Kolapakkam in Chennai in April last year. The girl alleged that she was repeatedly physically assaulted by Ms. Marlina and was made to do one chore after another in the house. She was also not paid her wages and prevented from communicating with her family and denied medical attention when she suffered injuries following assaults.
The girl claimed that Ms Marlina said she was the daughter-in-law of Pallavaram MLA Karunanithi and hence no one would come to her rescue if she complained about the torture inflicted on her. The MLA had also visited the house where she was employed. However, he had no role in the harassment she underwent and only the daughter-in-law and her husband would assault her, she said.
Evidence’s executive director Kathir said that on the eve of Pongal the girl’s employers had dropped her off at her mother’s house after allegedly obtaining signatures from her on a paper stating she was quitting on her own volition.
A fact-finding team from the organisation had recently gone to Ulundurpet to obtain the girl’s statement. The girl told the team she even suffered bleeding injuries in the assault but was never given first-aid. She suffered in silence out of fear.
The victim lodged a complaint with the Ulundurpet police following which she was directed to undergo medical examination at the Ulundurpet Government Hospital on Tuesday.
Mr. Kathir said the Ulundurpet police informed Thiruvanmiyur All Women Police Station in Chennai about the incident. The Tamil Nadu government must ensure that legal action is taken against the couple and grant compensation to the girl to enable her pursue higher education.
