Saudi employer denies chopping off Indian woman's hand

Riyadh: The Saudi Arabian employer, accused of chopping off the hand of an Indian domestic help, has claimed that the woman had to get her hand amputated in hospital after she damaged it badly while allegedly jumping from the third floor of his house here.

Kasturi Munirathinam, 55, whose hand was severed, is currently being looked after in a Saudi hospital and India has demanded a full-scale inquiry into the incident. The case evoked a strong condemnation from India which demanded that a case of attempt to murder be lodged against the culprit.

The Saudi sponsor, who has not been named, told Arab News that Munirathinam's right hand was amputated as a result of her failed attempt to flee by jumping from a window.

"On Thursday, the housemaid went to her room while my mother was performing Asr prayer and locked herself inside. She knotted together bed sheets and some of her clothes and dangled the rope out of the window so that she could jump from the third floor," the sponsor said.

"An expat worker on the street saw her trying to jump, and when she fell, she landed on two electricity boxes, which caused severe damage to her hand. The worker then informed the building guard and my mother informed the police and the Red Crescent about the incident. The rescuers arrived on the scene and transferred the housemaid to the hospital where she underwent amputation surgery to her right hand," he said.

He said the Indian woman was recruited two months ago to serve his mother who is 70 and lives alone in an apartment in Riyadh.

"The police investigated the accident and checked all the evidence at the site and concluded that the woman tried to jump from the window and fell from the third floor," he claimed.