The Madras High Court has granted conditional bail to ruling DMK MLA’s son and daughter-in-law in connection with the alleged torture of their domestic help, a girl hailing from Scheduled Caste Community.
The couple, who had been absconding were arrested on January 25 after police filed a First Information Report after the incident create a furore among the Opposition parties.
The High Court granted bail to DMK MLA E.Karunanithi’s son Anto Mathivanan and daughter-in-law Marlena Anne in a case registered against them for having allegedly tortured their domestic help following which the Opposition parties, including the AIADMK, demanding stern action in this regard.
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar granted the bail on condition that the petitioners must appear before the investigating officer every day for a period of two weeks and sign at a police station, despite objections from the defence side.
The bail was granted after the prosecution submitted the details of investigation conducted so far.
The police also told the court that the victim’s educational certificates had been recovered from the accused and that she had already filed a petition before the court concerned for return of those certificates to her in order to pursue higher education.
The court was informed that the couple had engaged the domestic help through a manpower agency for a monthly salary of Rs 16,000. While the victim alleged torture at the hands of the couple, the latter denied the charge and claimed to have treater her well.
The police had booked the couple under various sections of the IPC and also under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has demanded action regarding the alleged abuse of
a Dalit woman in Tamil Nadu. The 18-year-old Dalit woman was employed as a domestic help at the residence of Karunanithi’s son and had alleged physical torture for several months and denial of medical care by her employers.
The women’s panel strongly condemned the alleged harassment and physical torture faced by the woman, calling for swift and urgent action.
