Indian maid, whose hand was chopped off, returns from Saudi Arabia

Chennai/New Delhi: Kasthuri Munirathanam, the 58-year-old Indian maid whose right hand was allegedly chopped off by her employer in Saudi Arabia, returned to Chennai on Saturday.

Kasthuri, who suffered grievous injuries at her employer's place while working as a domestic help in Riyadh, was accorded a warm welcome at the airport in Chennai by her relatives and state government officials.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in a statement said that considering Kasthuri's poor financial condition, a sum of Rs.10 lakh has been deposited in her name in Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

Jayalalithaa said a monthly interest of Rs.8,330 will be paid to Kasthuri, who hails from Vellore district around 140 km from Chennai.

Immediately on her arrival at Chennai airport, Kasthuri was taken to a government hospital for a check-up.

Meanwhile, Vikas Swarup, spokesperson in the external affairs ministry, tweeted: "Ms. Kasturi Munirathnam arrived in Chennai and was reunited with her family today morning."

"Even as our Mission in Riyadh continues to pursue the case of Ms. Munirathnam, we have got her dues & facilitated her return to India," he said.

Kasthuri was taken to Dammam in Saudi Arabia in August this year and then to capital Riyadh to work as a domestic help.

Her right hand was allegedly chopped off when she tried to escape from an apartment in Riyadh where her sponsor kept her reportedly to look after his 70-year-old mother.

However, her Saudi sponsor claimed that her hand had to be amputated after it was badly damaged in her failed attempt to flee by jumping from a window.

"Police investigated the accident and checked all evidence at the site and concluded that the woman tried to jump from the window and fell from the third floor," Arab News quoted the sponsor as saying.

Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Riyadh has taken up the matter with the Saudi Arabian government and has sought an independent probe into the incident.

According to Munirathnam's sister S. Vijayakumari, the maid was forced to take up the job abroad as the family was facing financial problems after the marriage of her three daughters.