Saudi Arabian Employer Allegedly Chops Off Domestic Help’s Hand; India 'Disturbed' Over 'Brutal' Attack On Woman

A Saudi Arabian employer allegedly chopped off the hand of an Indian domestic help when she tried to escape from their house, Indian foreign ministry authorities said Friday. Indian authorities have complained to Saudi Arabia, seeking strict action against the “brutal” attack on the 58-year-old woman in Riyadh.

Kasturi Munirathinam's right hand was chopped off last week and she is currently recovering in a hospital in Riyadh, her family told Indian media. Her family has alleged that she was being tortured by her employer.

“Kasturi's employer was angered after she apprised local officials about the harassment she was facing there, she was not even provided food," her sister, S Vijayakumari, told the Press Trust of India news agency, according to the BBC. "When she tried to escape the harassment and torture, her right hand was chopped off by the woman employer. She fell down and sustained serious spinal injuries."

Munirathinam’s family lives in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She travelled to Saudi Arabia three months ago to take up a job as a cleaner in a household in the eastern city of Dammam and then in the capital city of Riyadh. Munirathinam's family has urged the Indian government to help secure compensation and pay for the victim's medical expenses.

Sushma Swaraj, the Indian foreign minister, issued a statement Friday over the incident.

Vikas Swarup, a spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry, also told the Indian Express newspaper that India would "continue to seek justice for the victim."

"Our embassy in Riyadh has taken up the matter with the Saudi Foreign Office and asked for strict action in the matter and severe punishment for the sponsor," he reportedly said, adding that India is seeking an independent probe in the incident and urged that "a case of attempted murder be lodged against the sponsor so that he is punished, if found guilty as per law."