9-YEAR-OLD GIRL SEXUALLY ABUSED IN TRICHY, 4 HELD

A 36-year-old woman, who was four-month pregnant, was pushed from a moving train near Katpadi in Vellore after she allegedly resisted a man's attempt to sexually assault her on the Coimbatore-Tirupati Intercity Express on Thursday night, officers aware of the matter said on Friday.

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI:

The 31-year-old accused, who has been arrested, was out on bail after being arrested for the murder of a woman in Chennai in April last year. He was previously booked under the Goondas Act in 2022, they added.

The woman suffered fractures to her hand and leg, and sustained a head injury. She is currently undergoing treatment at a government hospital, police said.

"The woman was on her way to visit her mother at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh," a police officer said on condition of anonymity. "She was travelling alone in the women's compartment when the accused, identified as K Hemraj, attacked her. He had boarded the train at Jolarpet railway station and got down at the next station after pushing her off," the officer added.

"About six other women were in the compartment but they had deboarded the train before reaching Jolarpet," the police officer said.

Speaking to the media from the hospital, the survivor said, "The man kept to himself and was quiet for about half an hour before he tried to pull my dress. I resisted his attempts which led to a fight between us where he pulled me by my hair, dragged me to the door and pushed me outside."