CHENNAI: Less than a month after a woman vendor was stabbed to death at Saidapet railway station, another woman was attacked at a railway station in the city. This time, the incident took place at the Perungalathur railway station on Saturday night.
The victim was identified as S Tamizhselvi of Chengalpattu (47). She was waiting to board a train to Chengalpattu. Her husband, Sundaramurthy, had gone to buy tickets at the counter. According to the police, at around 10.30 pm, when Tamizhselvi was waiting on platform one, a man in an inebriated state tried to sexually harass her.
When she raised an alarm, the accused identified as Subramaniam (55) attacked her with a knife. He threatened the other passengers with the knife and fled, said the police. Tamizhselvi suffered a deep cut below her right shoulder and was rushed to a nearby hospital. She was given treatment and discharged, said Tambaram Government Railway Police (GRP). She received 13 sutures to close her injuries. The couple was on their way home after shopping for their grandchild’s ear-piercing ceremony.
After a preliminary investigation, police said the attacker is often found on the station premises in an inebriated condition. The police identified him after sifting through CCTV footage from neighbouring buildings as the CCTVs on the station are not functioning. Subramaniam, a resident of RMK Nagar in Perungalathur is originally from Tiruvannamalai. According to the police, he was temporarily employed at a temple near Vandalur.
“Subramaniam was in an inebriated state and was roaming on the platform. When he saw Tamizhselvi standing alone, he tried to sexually assault her. When she resisted and raised an alarm, he attacked her with a knife,” said a police officer.
After analysing CCTV footage, the police rounded up 20 suspects and zeroed in on Subramaniam. Following his arrest, the police said any person who attacks women at railways stations would be booked under the Goondas Act.
A third such incident in less than two months raises serious security concerns at railway stations in the city. To put the public at ease, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP have beefed up security at MRTS and other suburban stations.
(To report crimes at railway stations, contact 1512 and 9962500500)