THANJAVUR: The Budalur police on Thursday arrested two youths for the alleged gang-rape of a 42-year-old woman after offering her lift to her village.
Sources said the woman from a village near Budalur is as a construction worker. The crime occurred on Tuesday night when she was on her way to her village from Thanjavur after the day’s work. She reached Budalur junction from Thanjavur in a bus.
She used to board another bus from Budalur to her village but on Tuesday night she missed the last bus as she was a little late. While she remained at the bus stop, two men on two bikes approached her and offered her a lift to her village.
The woman rode pillion on one of the bikes while the other rider followed. Midway, near Palayeevayal, the duo stopped their vehicles, dragged her to a fallow paddy field and sexually assaulted her, sources said. Later the duo dropped her midway, threatening her not to disclose the incident to anyone, and sped away.
Meanwhile, worried over her not returning home for long, her son went looking for her and found her on the road. He took her back to their village where she narrated the incident to the family members. Following this, she lodged a complaint with the Budalur police.
The police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS, including that for gang-rape and criminal intimidation. The woman was admitted to the Government Raja Mirasdar Hospital (RMH).
Based on inquiries, the police identified the accused as A Praveen Kumar (34) and R Rajkapur (26) of Rayandur near Budalur. Police said when they tried to arrest the two they tried to flee and in the process “fell down and fractured their limbs”.
The police arrested them and admitted them to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. Former chief minister and Leader Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the incident and demanded the state government for appropriate steps to ensure the safety of women.