Four Arrested In Sexual Assault Of Russian Woman in Tiruvannamalai

A Russian (tourist) woman was raped in a service apartment in Tiruvannamalai on July 16. Six men were alleged to have involved in this sexual assault incident that left the Russian woman unconscious. Four men were detained in the alleged sexual assault and were arrested. Following preliminary probe and the statement of the 21-year-old Russian tourist recorded by a magistrate, four men were arrested.

The Russian tourist stayed in a serviced apartment run by a 37-year-old man (Bharathi) who is among the four arrested by Tiruvannamalai police. Bharathi was slapped with the charge of rape and others were booked under different IPC sections.

On the day of incident (July 16), the Russian woman was round unconscious in a service apartment and was taken to the hospital by one among the six men. He was detained for questioning. On examination the doctors found injuries on her body and bite marks as well upon which they had alerted police.

Illegally run service apartment where the Russian woman stayed was closed and sealed as it did not have permission for running a lodging facility neither any safety or security features like CCTV cameras. Following treatment at hospital the Russian tourist regained consciousness who is here in Tiruvannamalai for about a week.

Tiruvannamalai, a spiritual destination

Tiruvannamalai is a popular temple destination where people various states in the country perform ‘Girivalam‘ (walk around the Tiruvannamalai hill) on every full-moon night. Being one of the spiritual destination in South, this town also has other ashrams where many foreign tourists make their visit and stay.

Frequent sexual assault incidents in the state creates a sense of discomfort and insecurity among public. Very recently a 11-year-old hearing impaired girl was sexually assaulted by 22 people over the past seven months in an apartment complex in Chennai.