India's foreign ministry has complained to the Saudi Arabian authorities following an alleged "brutal" attack on a 58-year-old Indian woman in Riyadh.
Kasturi Munirathinam's right arm was chopped off, allegedly by her employer, when she tried to escape from their house last week, reports say.
Ms Munirathinam was working as a domestic help. She is recovering in hospital.
Her family has alleged that she was being tortured by her Saudi employers.
Saudi authorities have not commented on the incident yet.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj wrote on Twitter: "This is unacceptable. We have taken this up with Saudi authorities. Our embassy is in touch with the victim."
Chopping of hand of Indian lady - We are very much disturbed over the brutal manner in which Indian lady has been treated in Saudi Arabia.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) October 9, 2015
"Chopping of [arm] of Indian lady - we are very much disturbed over the brutal manner in which Indian lady has been treated in Saudi Arabia," Ms Swaraj added.
The family of Ms Munirathinam in the southern Indian city of Chennai said that her employers had been "angered" after she complained about the "harassment" she was facing at her employer's home, where she had begun working three months ago.
They are asking the government to secure them compensation from the family, and also help pay Ms Munirathinam's medical expenses.
Kasturi, 50, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Riyadh, her sister Vijayakumari told from their home in Vellore district.
“We are told that the incident happened on the night of September 29 after she complained about torture and non-payment of wages by her employer. He chopped off her hand when she tried to escape from the house through the balcony. Some neighbours and others took her to hospital,” Vijayakumari said.
“The Indian embassy officials, who visited her, spoke to her son who is a farmer in a village near Vellore. They told him that she had also suffered a spinal injury as she fell from the balcony when she tried to escape. We cannot go there unless the government arranges for it, but the officials have promised the best treatment for her,” she said.
In a video uploaded by a visitor at the hospital in Riyadh, Kasturi is seen asking to be sent back to India. It also shows her describing in Tamil how she tried to jump off from the balcony using a saree.
“This is the first time she has gone abroad for work. She was promised a salary of Rs 15,000 from which the agent was to take his cut because he did not charge any advance,” Vijayakumari said.
“We are aware of the plight of Kasturi Munirathinam, a domestic help who has suffered serious injuries allegedly inflicted by her Saudi Arabian sponsor. This is a very unfortunate and most condemnable incident." he Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.
“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. We have also sought 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,” he said.
Kasturi is currently being looked after in a Saudi hospital, he said.
“India also proposes to take up this issue in the JWG on Labour Matters with Saudi Arabia which will be held in New Delhi on October 12-13 and is the established institutional mechanism for such matters,” he added.
“We will continue to seek justice for the victim,” he said.
