KOLLAM: The Tenkasi railway police arrested a habitual offender from Shenkottai near Kollam on Monday while he was trying to escape to Kerala.
Aneesh, 28, of Pathanapuram in the Kollam district, has been identified as the accused in the alleged sexual assault on a Keralite woman railway gatekeeper a few days ago. According to the police, a similar sexual assault case was filed against the accused in 2018 at the Kunnicode police station in Kollam.
According to officials, the accused has been working as a painting worker in Tenkasi for three months. During the investigation, the police recovered the accused's footwear with paint stains from the crime scene, which helped them in identifying the accused.
The survivor's statement has also been critical in the case. In her statement before the police, she said the accused was wearing Khaki pants and had no shirt. The investigation was carried out based on information from CCTV footage and mobile tower locations.
The accused was apprehended by a 20-member team led by DySP Ponnuchami. "In the past too he had been arrested many a time in sexual assault cases. He was accused of another sexual assault at Kunnicode police station. The trial is set to begin soon. That's when he got involved in this assault incident," the DySP told the media.
The accused was charged with a rape attempt. Later, the police team took him to the crime scene and collected evidence. The accused will be produced in court after a medical examination.
Aneesh had attacked the woman while she was at the railway gatekeeper’s resting room on Thursday morning. He tried to assault her after locking the restroom door. However, she managed to escape and alerted the local residents.
Following this, a team of police officials from the railway police and the Pavoorchatram police arrived at the scene. The survivor was later transferred to Tirunelveli Railway Hospital, where she is now undergoing treatment.