CHENNAI: Sixty-two-year-old Radha Venuprasad, a resident of Palavakkam, who was allegedly assaulted by a Kollywood music director and left with a fractured jaw, says she has been emboldened by the change in State government to speak up about the attack.Though she had registered a case with the police after the attack, no arrests were made in the case, she says.Radha and her husband C Venuprasad (70) live at VGP Golden Seaview, Palavakkam. According to the couple, their troubles began when music director and television personality James Vasanthan and his wife Hema started the construction of their house on an adjacent plot.Radha, who is asthmatic and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), began to fall sick after the construction work started. “With all the cement dust floating around, everyday was a battle for life,” Radha told Express. The couple says they requested James Vasanthan and his wife to put up tin sheets around the construction site to keep the dust from spreading.“Even after repeated phone calls and messages, they refused to respond to us. When that failed, we took legal recourse by sending a lawyer’s notice to James Vasanthan, Kancheepuram District Collector and Palavakkam Panchayat requesting that they take suitable dust suppression measures under building rules,” Radha said.After an official intervention, a few plastic sheets were put up around the site but that did not serve the purpose, Radha said. “Keeping my health in mind, we asked them to put up tin sheets and that led to regular arguments.”Things came to a head on April 1, Venuprasad said. “After a knee-replacement surgery, I could barely stand. James Vasanthan, his wife Hema and his brother walked into our house and started abusing me in foul language. In a fit of rage, James Vasanthan lifted a flower pot and threatened to throw it at me. At that time, my wife walked in and screamed, after which he threw the pot at her hitting her face,” he said.An X-ray showed that Radha’s left mandible (lower jaw bone) had a fracture. “All these days, I could not find my voice to speak as I did not feel safe. Now that ‘Amma’ has come back, I feel safe and I want to share my story so that more women who are vulnerable will feel safe to talk about the criminal injustice done to them by those who enjoyed the patrontage of the DMK during their lawless rule,” Radha said.When contacted, James Vasanthan said, “I don’t want to defend myself on this issue. I know the law will take its course. My conscience is clear. I trust in God above all.”
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