(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.
"The accused have been absconding since Friday. No arrests have been made since we couldn't trace their locations. We can't reveal more as investigation is underway and a search is on to nab them soon," a police official told The Quint, on the condition of anonymity.
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.
"When she [Marlena] hits me with a spoon, sandal, broom, etc., she hit my head, face, feet, hands, and everywhere. One day, he [Mathivanan] beat from 11 am to 10 pm. I had bloody bruises. Apart from that, he cut my hair with scissors and assaulted me. Due to this, my whole body was severely injured. He would ask me to raise my hands and hit my chest with a soup spoon. He laid me down and kicks me in the face with his sandal foot... One day, he stripped me naked and beat me severely... Whenever he hits me hard, he switches off the CCTV camera in the house."18-year-old Dalit domestic worker in police complaint
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.
She alleged to the police that Marlena would threaten her saying they belong to an "MLA's family and nobody would come to her help if she told anyone about the alleged torture."
Speaking to The Quint over a phone call, MLA Karunanithi said:
"I stay in Chromepet, and they (Mathivanan and Marlena) stay in Thiruvanmiyur. They have been married for seven years now. In these years, I have visited them only 3-4 times. I am in no way connected to the incident. I have no relationship with them. I have no idea about them assaulting the girl. I have met her only once, but have never interacted much."DMK MLA I Karunanithi to The Quint
"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.
"On seeing me, my mother asked nervously, 'What is there so much hurt on you?'" Marlina told her that she knocked into a cupboard. I told my mother what had happened to me only after that," the girl said, in her complaint.
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.
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