Published May 19, 2026 | 11:02 AM ⚊ Updated May 19, 2026 | 11:02 AM
Sexual harassment. (iStock)
Synopsis: A 35-year-old speech and hearing-impaired unmarried woman from the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by two men after they offered to drop her off at home from work. Pudukkottai police said one person was arrested within 24 hours of the complaint and remanded to judicial custody. A special team has been formed to trace and arrest the second accused, who remains absconding.
A 35-year-old speech and hearing-impaired unmarried woman from Santhampatti village near Karambakudi in the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by two men after they offered to drop her off at home from work on the night of Sunday, 17 May.
According to police and local sources, the woman, who lives with her mother, has been working at a private rice mill in Paschikottai near Alangudi. On 17 May, after finishing work, she was reportedly waiting at the Meghala Theatre bus stop in Paschikottai to return home when two men known to her — Marimuthu (55), son of Sannasi, from Manakkollai near Ponnanviduthi, and Sekar (55) — allegedly approached her in a car and offered to drop her home.
It is alleged that the two men, who were reportedly under the influence of alcohol, took the woman in the vehicle through a different route instead of heading towards her village.
When the woman questioned them through gestures, the accused allegedly asked her to remain quiet. Police said the woman was allegedly assaulted inside the vehicle after she resisted.
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The accused then allegedly took the woman to a cashew grove near Manakkollai village, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed before being abandoned near Pillaiyar Kulam around 8.30 pm.
The survivor later managed to walk slowly towards the road, where residents noticed her and rescued her. A woman police constable passing through the area reportedly saw injuries on her body and enquired with her. The woman then explained the incident through sign language, after which she was taken to the Government Hospital in Alangudi in an 108 ambulance.
Meanwhile, the woman’s mother and relatives had begun searching for her after she failed to return home at her usual time. They later learned about the incident and rushed to the hospital.
The survivor was later shifted under police protection to the Government Raniyar Hospital in Pudukkottai for medical examination. After undergoing tests, she was initially sent home, but reportedly developed health complications the next morning. She was first admitted to the Government Hospital in Karambakudi and later shifted to the Pudukkottai Government Medical College Hospital. She is currently undergoing treatment at the Government Raniyar Maternity Hospital in Pudukkottai.
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother, police registered a case at the Alangudi All Women Police Station under Sections 87, 74, 126(2), 75(1) and 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. Police said the case corresponds to offences related to abduction, wrongful restraint, sexual harassment and gang rape.
Pudukkottai police said Marimuthu was arrested within 24 hours of the complaint and remanded to judicial custody. A special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Brinda has been formed to trace and arrest the second accused, Sekar, who remains absconding.
(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose.)
