Hyderabad, Oct 15 (IANS): A young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by an auto-rickshaw driver in Hyderabad in the early hours of Tuesday.

The victim complained to Gachibowli Police Station that the accused took her to an isolated place near a school in Masjid Banda area and raped her.

The 29-year-old private employee, who had returned from Chennai and alighted at Lingampally station at 2.15 a.m., boarded an autorickshaw to go to Nanakramguda where she lives.

The woman told police that the accused tried to strangulate her when she screamed for help. He also snatched her handbag which contained cash and an identity card.

She said in the complaint that the accused ran away when he saw a passerby. She dialled 100 to inform the police. The victim also told police that the auto-rickshaw did not have a number plate.

On her complaint, a case was registered at Gachibowli Police Station under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate.

Police sent the victim for medical examination and took up an investigation. The investigating officials scanned the CCTV footage to identify the accused. Police have formed teams to arrest the accused.

The victim is said to be an interior designer in a private firm in the Ameerpet area of the city.

This is the second incident of a working woman being sexually assaulted in the city in recent months.

In July, police arrested two sales executives of a real estate firm for allegedly drugging, raping, and beating their 26-year-old colleague inside a car.

According to police, the accused had committed the crime on the night of June 30. The arrests were made four days later after the victim approached the police.

Initially, a zero FIR was filed at Uppal Police Station and later the case was transferred to Miyapur Police Station. Both the accused were sent to judicial custody.