THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The driver of the Water Resources Minister's private secretary has been identified as the one who had sexually assaulted a lady doctor near the Museum compound on Wednesday early morning.
Santosh, a 34-year-old resident of Malayinkeezhu and driver of B Gopakumaran Nair, private secretary of Minister Roshy Augustine, was arrested by Peroorkada on Tuesday night for a robbery attempt at a house near Kuravankonam.
During the subsequent probe, he revealed his involvement in the case registered by the Museum police as well.
Following his arrest in the Kuravankonam case, Santosh, who was working on a contract basis for an agency that hired for the Water Authority, was sacked.
The Minister's office said the Water Authority has been asked to liaison with the agency to ensure that they also take appropriate action against the accused.
The complainant in the Museum case told Express that she has identified Santosh as the one who had assaulted her. She said he had changed his appearance after the incident to evade detection, but she had no difficulty in identifying him during the identification parade held on Wednesday morning.
"He had shaved off his head to evade detection. But on the first look itself, I came to know that it was him. I had seen him up close and hence there was no difficulty in identifying him," the woman said.
Cantonment Assistant Commissioner Dinraj said they will inform the court about the second case and will record his arrest with the permission of the court. "We will first inform the court about his involvement in another case. Then we will complete the rest of the procedure with the permission of the court," he said.
Santosh was taken in for questioning on Tuesday evening on the basis of the CCTV visuals seized from Kuravankonam locality.
The house of a woman staying alone there reportedly came under attack as an unidentified man tried to break in on Wednesday morning. This was just hours prior to the sexual assault on the lady doctor near the Museum compound.
Police sources said he was detained on the basis of his appearance which has a striking resemblance with the sketch of the culprit prepared by the police.
Also, the man was found to have parked his white Innova car near Kuravankonam on Wednesday at 4 am. The lady doctor was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man just outside the Museum compound by 4.45 am.
The 36-year-old medical practitioner was sexually assaulted by a bearded man in a white sleeveless t-shirt and black trousers. He molested the woman when she was approaching the Museum gate near the Corporation office.
The Museum compound in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram is the most preferred morning walk destination for the city's elite, including top police officials.
In her complaint, the woman had said the man arrived in a white car. When she resisted his move, he fled, scaled the fence, and escaped.
She immediately alerted the Museum security, who in turn notified the nearby police station. However, they could not apprehend him.
In one of the CCTV visuals, the man was seen fleeing the place even as the woman tried to chase him down.
The complainant alleged that the police did not do enough to apprehend the culprit on the spot despite being told that he was hiding inside the Museum.