CHENNAI: A 65-year-old home-alone woman was allegedly raped by a 17-year-old boy at knife-point, in a slum in North Chennai in the wee hours of Monday. The locals and police suspect involvement of two more youth, who were together boozing in a community centre close to the slum. He was nabbed later.
Police said the victim, who makes a living by working as domestic help, was asleep when the 17-year-old boy gained entry into her hut at around 4 am and allegedly raped her. The woman, a widow, has a son who lives in Tiruvallur district. She moved to this area around six months back.
The hut is situated very close to the said community centre and is surrounded by many other huts. Yet, the residents have told police they did not hear any noises.”At around 4 am, the boy allegedly found the main door of the hut unlocked and after entering gagged the woman and raped her at knife-point,” said a police officer. A few locals had spotted three men running from the house early in the morning.
“I had got up to drink tea, when I spotted three men running and one of them had a knife. A few minutes later, the victim came out screaming for help and was bleeding,” said a local. However, she was able to identify them since they were residents of the nearby area, sources said.
“The victim had just finished work and we met her after dinner. After the incident, she knocked on my door for help and narrated that the men were as old as her grandchildren and she begged them to let her go. But they allegedly hit her and threatened her not to scream. She even hurt her back when they pushed her down,” said the owner of the victim’s house. The juvenile was nabbed at Sengundram and after an investigation at the MKB Nagar police station, was admitted to Kelly’s juvenile home. The police are investigating the involvement of his friends.
The victim is believed to have sustained severe injuries and is undergoing treatment at the Stanley Medical College Hospital. The victim’s son has filed a complaint with the All Women’s Police Station, MKB Nagar, and an investigation is underway, said a police officer. A senior police officer said, the trio consumed alcohol in the community centre on Sunday night and only this juvenile went to the house. “He has a pending theft cases registered against him,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the locals claimed that the community centre was used by youth in the locality for boozing and drugs.”The men would usually stand in the terrace of the hall and watch all huts and pass lewd comments on the women walking on the street,” said Shanthi, a local resident.