THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An autorickshaw driver was arrested on Friday for sexually abusing a young woman who came to the capital to meet her friend.
The victim is an employee of the Nirbhaya Shelter Home in Palakkad. The accused was identified as Sam J Walson, 36, son of John Walson of Sion Mandiram in Kandala. He was arrested by a team from Palakkad police.
Police said the victim had left the shelter home on October 14 without informing the authorities. A police case was registered on the same day as she was reported missing. The incident came to light after the woman reached the shelter home on Thursday.
The victim told the officials that she had gone near the sub-registrar office in Nemom to meet a friend last week. Her friend did not turn up as promised. The accused befriended her, while she was waiting for her friend. He offered her help to trace the friend and took her to Neyyatinkara. Later he took her to a vacant building and sexually assaulted her.
After the incident, Sam dropped her at the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Station, from where she went to some relatives’ houses before returning to the shelter home in Palakkad.
According to police, Sam Walson is an accused in several petty cases. He was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.