Three women raped at knife-point in Chennai

In two cases, the women had to use toilets outside their houses, making it easy for suspect to enter the homes
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

CHENNAI: Three women were allegedly raped at knife-point recently. Two of the incidents occurred in the same street on Sunday and Monday nights. This has sent shock waves among the locals.
In a congested street in the heart of the city, 28-year-old Vanitha (name changed) was sitting crying in her in-laws house, while her four-year-old son was wiping her tears. Narrating the horrific incident, she recalled “On Sunday around 12.30 am, I went to the bathroom outside the house leaving behind my second daughter (one-year-old) to sleep inside the house. “The room was dimly lit, I came back and went back to sleep by her side. A few minutes later, a man clad in shorts and T-shirt with curly hair tried to choke me and kept a knife at my daughter’s neck and threatened to kill her if I screamed,” she recalled.

Fearing that the suspect would kill the girl, the woman remained silent. She saw the man’s face in the dim light and recognised it was her neighbour, who she saw in the evening while shifting her house. “He raped and threatened me not to tell anybody. He mentioned spotting me in the street before and took down my phone number before he left. He also said he will not come back again and left the house around 3.30 am,” she added.

It was the first day at the new house for her. Since the victim was staying alone with her children, her in-laws insisted that she move near them. On Sunday, she shifted to the new house where she was raped. “Till Monday, she was crying and her sister had come to visit her. We knew there was a problem but assumed it to be a family dispute and never interfered,” said a neighbour.

On Monday, Vanitha spotted the suspect and when her father -in-law reached the house, she narrated the entire incident after which the family along with neighbours nabbed the man and thrashed him before handing him over to the police.

Meanwhile, the family claimed that the man was keeping a watch on the woman from Saturday. “The suspect had asked me on Saturday if my daughter-in-law had moved to the house, I replied in the negative and continued with my work. But, I did not expect this. On Sunday, he was speaking over the phone late night keeping a track of my daughter-in-law’s activities,” said the mother-in-law.

The suspect lived in the same compound where Vanitha resided. “He lived with his parents, sister and grandmother. On Monday, the suspect’s grandmother was knocking the door as it was latched from outside. I found it unusual, then I thought some children must have locked it. Only now it is clear that the suspect locked his own door from outside,” said a neighbour.

When the entire neighbourhood was shocked over the incident, the subsequent night, another 27-year-old woman who was living alone in the same street was raped the similar way. However, Vanitha’s incident came to light only on Tuesday after the 27-year-old woman also filed a police complaint.
Rani (name changed), was residing in the house for over three years. She lived with her sister who was recently married and later started living alone.

“On Monday, Rani, had finished work and reached home by 11 pm. Around 2 am, she stepped out of the house to use the bathroom when the suspect sneaked inside the house and was hiding. After she fell asleep, the man forced himself on her. When she tried to raise an alarm, he threatened her at knife-point and raped her. After he left, the woman alerted her neighbours informed her parents,” police said.
Rani’s house is also situated in the same street hardly 10 metres away from Vanitha’s house. “In both cases, the women had to use the bathroom which was outside the house. This made it easy for the suspect to gain entry inside the house,” said a police source.

Both the victims have been sent for medical examination and CCTV footage have been collected from the street to trace the suspect. Meanwhile, a detailed inquiry is on with the man. 

The same night, a 25-year-old woman, mother of two children, was raped by her own relative who was in an inebriated condition in another area in the city.“Vaishali (name changed), was married five years ago and had two children. Her husband worked as a security guard and their relative resided in the same apartment complex in a different house,” said a police officer.

On Monday, the victim was alone with her children while her husband had gone for night duty. “Around 1.30 am, her relative who was in an inebriated condition came to her house and tried to rape her. When she tried to raise an alarm, he threatened to kill the children. The man raped Vaishali at knife point and escaped,” added the officer.

The woman tried to reach her husband over the phone. As the calls went unanswered, she informed her brother-in-law who alerted a patrol vehicle. A police team  rushed to the house and nabbed the man. He was identified as Vinoth.He was remanded to judicial custody.

Nabbed, thrashed
On Monday, Vanitha spotted the suspect and later narrated the entire incident to her father -in-law. Then the family along with neighbours nabbed the man and thrashed him before handing him over to cops

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