THENI: A 28-year-old youth was washed away in a river as he was trying to help the police catch an accused who tried to sexually assault an 80-year-old woman at Samandipuram near Cumbum.
The victim, Prabhudeva, worked as a coconut tree climber. On December 6, 23-year-old U Vijayakumar attempted to rape an 80-year-old woman near Samandipuram. Upon hearing the woman’s cries, Vijayakumar fled the scene. Cumbum police registered a case and issued a lookout notice for Vijayakumar. On Saturday, the police along with four volunteers, including Prabhudeva, were searching for Vijayakumar. As the accused fell into the Periyar River while trying to escape, others also jumped in to nab him. However, the accused managed to escape. Meanwhile, Prabhudeva was washed away even as he knew swimming. Fire and rescue personnel launched a search effort to recover his body.
On Sunday, water level at the Mullaperiyar Dam reached 136 feet, against its total capacity of 142 feet, following which the PWD officials issued a warning. However, in order to recover Prabhudeva’s body, officials reduced the outflow of the dam from 1,500 cusecs to 500 cusecs.