TIRUNELVELI: A 36-year-old tribal woman, who was admitted in the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) with injuries on Saturday, alleged that she was sexually assaulted on the Papanasam-Karaiyar ghat road by a youth from her village. Police denied her charge and said she was pushed down by him due to enmity. The youth and his accomplice have been arrested.
Speaking to media persons, the woman said the suspect, identified by her as Dinesh, ran away after seeing a group of tourists approach the area, and they rescued her. “I was returning home in my two-wheeler after purchasing commodities. I stopped the vehicle near Agasthiyar Falls Vilakku and was speaking to my daughter, who is studying in Tirunelveli, over the phone when Dinesh and another youth came there. Dinesh was drunk and made an obscene gesture towards me. I scolded him and tried to leave the spot. But he blocked me and sexually assaulted me causing injuries on various parts of my body,” she alleged.
A group of tourists that was passing on the road rescued the woman and took her to the Ambasamudram GH. Later, she was shifted to TvMCH. Her daughter lodged a complaint to district collector Dr R Sukumar over the phone and he directed the deputy Superintendent of Police, Ambasamudram Ganesh Kumar to investigate.
When contacted by TNIE, Ganesh Kumar said they had detained two youths in connection with the incident and clarified that the woman was not sexually assaulted. “There was a dispute between the families of the woman and youth. Due to this, the youth pushed her down when she was riding a two-wheeler. Further inquiry is on,” he said. On Sunday, police issued a media release stating Dinesh (25) and his friend Subin (25) were arrested.