Kerala: 70-Year-Old Woman Raped in Robbery; Attacker Used Chili Powder

GUWAHATI: A 70-year-old woman was allegedly raped during an attempt to rob her at her home in Alappuzha district of Kerala on Saturday night.

A 29-year-old man, identified as Dhanesh from Kanakakunnu, was arrested by the police for his alleged involvement in the crime. He has been charged with robbing about seven sovereigns from her and was caught while trying to sell off the stolen jewelry.

It is suspected that the accused identified the elderly woman after coming to know that she lived alone. The police said the accused threw chilly powder at the victim, due to which she lost balance, and he raped her.

The accused then locked the door from outside and decamped with the woman's mobile phone, leaving her helpless to call for help, the police said. On the next morning, neighbors found her and rushed her to hospital, where they informed the authorities.

The police have booked him under the relevant sections of the law and said that further investigation is underway.

The Justice Hema committee's findings on widespread sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry have been mounting pressure on the Left government in Kerala.

On Saturday, the LDF government constituted a Special Investigation Team comprising a team of women IPS officers to probe the various allegations of sexual aberration that have been coming to the forefront in mainstream and social media. The government did a U-turn from its earlier stand that prosecution was not possible in view of lack of any specific complaint.

Actor Siddique resigned as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes following allegations of sexual assault by a young female actor. In a related development, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairperson Ranjith too resigned following allegations by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra of inappropriate behavior during a project discussion.

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