CHENNAI: Two men from Bihar were arrested by the Velachery police on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 61-year-old woman with intellectual disabilities earlier in the day. Passersby had noticed the woman walking along the 100-ft Road in Velachery around 4 am with blood stains on her legs and alerted the police, bringing the crime to light.
According to police, the accused — identified as Mohammed Muthab (26) and Mohammed Atheel (23) from Bihar — were employed at separate eateries in Velachery. A 15-year-old boy from Bihar was also initially detained, but let go after investigation ruled out his involvement, police said.
The survivor is an elderly woman, who had left her family and was living near the Velachery Bus Stand, police said. Shortly after midnight, she was walking along the Velachery 100-ft Road, when a group of men on a bike taxi intercepted her. They took her to a secluded location near a corporation park and allegedly sexually assaulted her, before fleeing the spot, police said.
Around 4 am, passersby found the woman walking along the 100-ft Road near a petrol bunk, with blood stains on her legs. When they tried to ask her what had happened, she was unable to provide a coherent answer. Subsequently, the 108 ambulance service and police control room were alerted.
CCTV footage analysed to trace suspects
Police personnel on patrol arrived at the spot and questioned the survivor and those nearby, but were unable to elicit information from the woman, they added.
She was then rushed to the Saidapet Government Hospital for treatment, where it was determined that she had been sexually assaulted. The survivor was then shifted to the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore, where she is currently under treatment.
Based on CCTV footage from the locality, police zeroed in on the two suspects and managed to detain them later on Thursday. The Velachery police have registered a case in this regard and further investigation is under way.
