Octogenarian raped by 32-yr-old in Kovai

COIMBATORE: In a shocking incident, an 82-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a  32-year-old man at a public toilet near Singanallur.According to sources, Maniammal (name changed) had gone to the toilet located near her house on Sunday around 5 pm, when Palanisamy, also from the same locality, allegedly committed the crime. Maniammal’s niece Dhanalakshmi (name changed) said: “It was an unbearable sight that evening. My aunt somehow managed to reach a neighbour’s house and all she could do was cry due to the pain. She was bleeding and had suffered multiple wounds. We took her to the hospital.”While Maniammal is in hospital for the past three days and is yet to recover, the perpetrator was let off by the police after a mere warning. Only after the locals protested, the police arrested Palanisamy on Wednesday.“On Monday morning, a police officer contacted us in the hospital and we explained everything to him. He also inspected the medical notes which clearly stated that it was a rape. But the police did not arrest the culprit. Subsequently, on Monday, some relatives traced the person and handed over him over to the Singanallur police,” said a relative of the victim.The locals gathered at the police station on Tuesday after they learnt that the accused had been let off and demanded his arrest. Following this, ACP Chandra Mohan met the victim at the hospital.  After the police were convinced about the veracity of the claims, Palanisamy was booked and remanded him to judicial custody. However, Chandra Mohan said the police did not register a case as the relatives preferred not to lodge a complaint.