Around 4 am on Tuesday, local villagers found the traumatised woman by the road and shifted her to the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital in an 108 ambulance.
Published Sep 30, 2025 | 5:35 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2025 | 6:30 PM
The woman was travelling along with her sister in a goods vehicle when the police flagged them down near the bypass.
Synopsis: It has been alleged that the policemen dragged one of the women into the nearby bushes, violated her, and fled the scene after abandoning the survivor. Reports identified the policemen as Suresh Raj and Sundar, attached to the Tiruvannamalai East Police Station.
Two policemen on night patrol allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh near Aendal bypass in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunnamalai district on Monday, 29 September.
The woman was travelling along with her mother in a goods vehicle ferrying plantain when the police flagged them down near the bypass. The women were on their way to the famous Arunachaleswarar Temple.
The policemen, Suresh Raj and Sundar, attached to the Tiruvannamalai East Police Station, reportedly interrogated the woman and the driver. Though the mother-daughter duo said they were on a temple visit, the cops made all three alight from the vehicle on grounds of “suspicion”.
The driver, not knowing how to handle the situation, left the spot with his vehicle. The two policemen then told the mother and daughter that they would take them separately to the temple on their two-wheeler. Instead, the officers allegedly diverted towards Villupuram Road, around three kilometres away.
It is alleged that one constable pushed the mother into a thorny pit along the roadside while the other dragged the younger woman to a nearby cremation ground, where the men took turns in violating her, before fleeing the scene.
At around 4 am, the young woman reportedly regained consciousness and staggered onto the road seeking help. Some passersby, suspecting her condition, did not intervene. She eventually reached a nearby brick kiln, where workers immediately informed the 108 ambulance service.
Meanwhile, the mother, too, reached the same brick kiln. Both women were rushed to the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital.
Based on the women’s statements, the police informed senior officers. Tiruvannamalai Superintendent of Police M Sudhakar and Additional SP Satheesh arrived at the spot, launched an investigation, and detained the two accused constables.
Officers from the All Women Police Station and Tiruvannamalai East Station also inspected the crime site. However, upon noticing media cameras, they reportedly left the place in haste.
Vellore Range DIG G Dharmarajan later rushed to Tiruvannamalai and questioned the two accused policemen.
Outrage in Tiruvannamalai
The incident has triggered widespread shock and anger, as the accused were tasked with protecting the public. Locals and devotees expressed outrage that such a crime could occur against pilgrims in a town considered sacred, particularly near the world-renowned Arunachaleswarar Temple — one of the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalams, representing fire (Agni).
Investigations are ongoing, and the accused constables remain under police custody at an unidentified location.
It may be recalled that a French woman in her 40s was sexually assaulted by a local tourist guide in Tiruvannamalai on 17 March 2025. The guide took the woman to the secluded Arunachala Hills, convincing her that meditating there would grant her moksha — or salvation.
Other devotees and passersby on the Girivalam path responded to the woman’s screams for help and rescued her. She informed the French Consulate about the incident, and her complaint was forwarded to SP Sudhakar.
The guide, R Venkatesan, was later arrested.
