Daijiworld Media Network - Pudukkottai

Pudukkottai, May 19: Two men have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and gangraping a 35-year-old speech-and-hearing-impaired woman in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai district.

The accused have been identified as S Marimuthu and A Sekar, both aged 55. The survivor, a daily wage labourer employed at a private rice mill, was allegedly abducted while waiting at a bus stop after completing her work shift on Sunday, May 17, around 4.30 pm.

According to police sources, the accused approached the woman in a car and offered her a ride. When she refused, they allegedly forced her into the vehicle and drove her to a secluded area near a pond in a village, where they sexually assaulted her.

Local residents reportedly rushed to the spot after hearing the woman’s cries for help. A woman police constable from the same village, who was passing through the area, noticed the victim and immediately alerted the authorities.

Police personnel reached the spot around 8.30 pm. Due to her speech and hearing impairment, the survivor initially faced difficulty communicating details of the incident or identifying the vehicle involved.

However, police managed to trace one of the accused and seized the vehicle allegedly used in the crime. A special investigation team headed by a DSP-rank officer has been formed to probe the case.

“In connection with this case, accused Marimuthu was arrested within 24 hours through immediate police action and remanded to judicial custody,” police said in a statement.

The second accused, Sekar, who had initially absconded, was arrested on Tuesday, May 19.

Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to gangrape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint, along with Section 92(b) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.