Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA Karunanidhi’s son has been booked for allegedly misbehaving with an 18-year-old girl who worked as a domestic help in his house.

The DMK leader’s son and daughter-in-law – Anto Mathivanan and Marlina – have both been accused of allegedly torturing the girl and denying her medical care.

However, according to India TodayIn the report, Karunanidhi rejected the claims, saying that his son’s family treated him well and “raised him only after he did something wrong”.

The Scheduled Caste girl was a Class 12 student and was working at Mathivanan’s house to enroll herself in coaching for the medical entrance exam NEET.

In a video shared by Evidence – a non-profit organization – the girl said that she got the domestic help job through an agent.

After working at Mathivanan’s house for seven months, she said they “physically attacked” her in whatever way they wanted, adding that they did not even pay her salary.

The girl cried while narrating her ordeal and said, “If I could not do even a small task properly, they would slap me on my face. Once, he asked me to prepare food by 6 in the morning as he was going out of town. I did not sleep till 2 o’clock last night. No one can survive without sleeping. I could wake up only by 7 in the morning. Since I couldn’t keep the food ready, they burnt my hands using a hair straightener.”

No matter how badly she was hurt, how much she was bleeding, the couple never took her to a hospital for medical treatment. “I had to treat myself,” she said in the video recording.

Reportedly, Mathivanan and Marlina threatened the girl that no one would come to her help if she told anyone about their alleged ill-treatment because of her family’s political background.

The police came to know about the matter when the girl went to her home during Pongal and her family members saw her injuries. They took him to a government hospital, where while examining him, doctors reportedly found bruises and even cigarette burns. The doctors there alerted the police regarding the possibility of abuse.

However, the girl or her family have not yet filed an official complaint.

“The girl was taken to Ulundurpet hospital for treatment and the doctors there alerted the nearest police station. We are trying to talk to them to register a case. Neither he nor the family are reachable. “We think they are trying to escape.” ndtv An officer of Nilangarai police station was quoted as saying.

The officer said that doctors say that the injuries are old but the truth will be known only after investigation.

Meanwhile, Karunanidhi denied the allegations against his son and daughter-in-law, saying that they helped the girl in her studies and also bought her jewellery.

“I don’t usually go there (Maithivanan’s house). The girl had clearly done something wrong, and they pulled her up for it. They are helping her with her studies, she is taking online classes. They also found her jewelery and other things,” the DMK MLA was quoted as saying.

He said he could also share the video of the birthday celebration that his son and family had organized for the girl.

Karunanidhi alleged that she was also on the phone with someone who brought allegations against her family from “the background”.

However, the DMK leader, citing his rare visits to his son’s house, said he had “no connection” with the incident.

According to Karunanidhi, when the girl started working there as a domestic help, there were already injury marks on her.