Police dismissed reports that the old woman was brutally raped.
A 90-year-old woman living alone was attacked and harassed by a person who barged into her house in Kadakkal near Kollam in south Kerala. The incident took place on September 14 but came to light only on Wednesday.
The woman who is a widow, who is a cancer survivor, has been living alone for 20 years since the death of her husband.
According to the police, a 63-year-old neighbor broke into the house through the rear door at night and assaulted the woman at knife point. She also suffered injuries in the scuffle.
Reports also say that the woman was raped and her relatives and neighbors reportedly asked her to keep quiet when she alerted the next morning.
“The man intruded into her house and attacked and behaved in a manner which amounted to outraging her modesty,†PTI quoted District police chief Ajeetha Begum.
However, police dismissed reports that the old woman was brutally raped. He was arrested today and charged under IPC Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 377 (unnatural offences).
The Human Rights Commission also has registered a Suo Motu case in the incident. The commission has asked the Kollam SP to submit the report within one week. The woman is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In another shocker, a 15-year-old girl hailing from Thiruvananthapuram was kidnapped and gangraped by four people in Thodupuzha in Idukki district on Tuesday.
A few months back, a law student was raped and killed by a migrant laborer in Perumbavur in Eranakulam district, triggering heated debates on the safety of woman in the state.