COIMBATORE: A man was arrested for allegedly drugging a 33-year-old woman with juice and sexually assaulting her along with an accomplice. A search is on for the second suspect.
Police said the survivor, who was separated from her husband, developed a relationship with the arrested, identified as L Anthony Mariya Robin (28) of Nallamanaickenpatti in Dindigul district. The survivor, an MPhil graduate, works as a video editor. She got married in 2019, but the couple separated a few years ago due to differences in opinion. She has a 4-year-old son. Police said Anthony, who was staying in a room in the same locality where the survivor runs her office in Sulur, befriended her and had allegedly promised to marry her after learning about her family background. Believing him, the woman has been in a relationship with him since 2023.
Meanwhile, Anthony started avoiding the woman after he made marriage arrangements with another person. Later, he, along with his friend Girish Samuel Kumar (30) of Tiruchy, came to patch things up with her when the duo allegedly gave her juice laced with sedatives. After she fell unconscious, the two men allegedly sexually assaulted her.
When the woman regained consciousness and questioned them, they allegedly told her they had recorded the act on a mobile phone and threatened to circulate the video on social media if she asked Anthony to marry her. They also threatened to kill her and her son if she approached the police. Based on the woman’s complaint at the Karumathampatti All Women Police, a case under sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS Act was registered. Police arrested Anthony near the new Sulur bus stand on Saturday while he was allegedly trying to escape. Efforts are on to nab another suspect.