KOZHIKODE: A hotelier, who had been absconding after a woman employee jumped from the first floor of a building to escape his alleged sexual assault attempt, was arrested from Thrissur district, police said on Wednesday.
The shocking incident gained momentum after the victim’s family released mobile visuals purportedly showing the trio's assault attempt and the woman’s desperate bid to escape. The footage was reportedly recorded accidentally on the victim’s phone, as her camera was automatically on while she was watching a video game.
The accused, identified as Devadas, was apprehended by the Mukkam police from Kunnamkulam during a bus journey on Tuesday night. A police source said investigators received a tip-off about his movements and stopped the bus midway to take him into custody. He was brought to the Mukkam police station in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to the police, Devadas, who owns a moderately sized hotel in the district, was accused of barging into the room of a woman employee at her rented house on Saturday night. His accomplices, Riyas and Suresh, who were with him during the alleged assault attempt, remain at large, and a manhunt is underway to apprehend them.
The victim, a native of Payyannur in Kannur, had joined Devadas’s hotel a few months ago. In her statement, she said the trio forcibly entered her room while she was watching a video game on her phone. With no other way to escape, she jumped from the first floor, sustaining serious injuries.
Hearing her cries, neighbours and local residents rushed to the spot and shifted her to a nearby hospital. She suffered fractures in her hip and hand but is currently in stable condition at a medical college hospital, sources said.
Police confirmed that Devadas has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and that his arrest will be formally recorded soon.