CHENNAI: The son and daughter-in-law of an MLA were booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly physically abusing an 18-year-old girl who was employed as a domestic help.

The police are now searching for the couple, Pallavaram MLA I Karunanidhi’s son Anto Madhivanan and his wife Marlina, who are absconding.

The city police said in a statement that they were intimated of the injuries by the authorities of a hospital in Ulundurpet which treated her. The complainant, who completed Class 12 last year, took up domestic help jobs to support her family after her father’s death. She has been working at the couple’s house in Tiruvanmiyur since last April. In video interviews that went viral, she alleged Marlina of physically abusing and even branding her. “They attacked me with footwear, broom and even branded me with a hair straightener. I was made to drink water mixed with chilli powder once when I forgot to dry clothes. I was threatened regularly citing her connections,” she alleged.

She shared the ordeal with her mother when she went home for Pongal, after which the woman took her to a hospital and also approached the Ulundurpet police, who alerted their counterparts in Chennai.

After her videos went viral, the MLA distanced himself from the couple, claiming that his son has been living with his family for the past seven years. “The government will take action as per law,” Karunanidhi added. The girl has also filed a complaint with the office of the State police chief.