NELLORE: Two youths, who allegedly tried to sexually assault a foreign national in the Rapur forest area close to Sydapuram, were arrested by police within hours of receiving a complaint from the victim. One of the accused had befriended the woman while she was travelling in a bus to Bengaluru and brought her to Nellore, the police said, adding that she took photo of the Aadhaar card of the accused when she gave him some money. This helped the police nab the accused within no time.
Gudur Rural Circle Inspector P Srinivasa Reddy said the 25-year-old woman from Lithuania visited Sri Lanka and from there reached Chennai on March 7. She came to India on a one month visa to meet her friends in Goa. She boarded a bus to Bengaluru from Chennai.
When she gave dollars to purchase the bus ticket, the crew rejected foreign currency and asked her to deboard the vehicle. The main accused, I Sai Kumar of Venkannapalem village in Munubole mandal, who was travelling in the bus, offered Rs 720 to buy the ticket to Bengaluru. Sai Kumar who works in a transport company in Nellore, went to Chennai to buy some spare parts, the CI said.
He was on way to Bengaluru due to non-availability of spare parts in Chennai. After reaching Bengaluru, the Lithuanian woman withdrew Rs 5,000 from an ATM and gave it to Sai Kumar to buy spare parts.
When the victim asked Sai Kumar to pay back her money, he brought her to his house at Venkannapalem on the pretext of showing some nearby tourist places. Sai Kumar and his friend Syed Abid (26) of Sai Nagar in Gudur mandal, took her on a bike to the Rapur forest area and tried to sexually assault her, the CI said.
The woman resisted their attempt and fled. On seeing a foreign national, some passersby informed the matter to police. Based on the photos of duo on her mobile phone, the police launched investigation after receiving a complaint from her. Three police teams were formed, which nabbed the two accused at Chillakur junction. The police registered a case under Section 354-A, 323, of the IPC against the duo.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said he was shocked to learn about the sexual assault attempt on a foreigner in Nellore district. “It is disgusting to find out that the woman was betrayed on the pretext of offering help. The perpetrators of the heinous crime must be speedily brought to justice and punished. Two such incidents in Nellore district, that too on #InternationalWomensDay lay bare the dangerous conditions prevailing in Andhra Pradesh for women,’’ he tweeted. Naidu urged the police to focus on controlling the rising crimes against women in the State instead of wasting time to harass Opposition activists.