A woman constable attached to the Tallakulam police station has lodged a sexual harassment complaint against a group of people.
The police are on the lookout for A.K. Boominathan, a caste association leader, and his father Karanthamalai, who are allegedly absconding. Two others, Arumugam, a former councillor, and Jothi, a ‘godman’ are yet to be identified by the police.
Boominathan, the prime accused, had allegedly approached the constable, who is fighting a divorce case with her husband, with a promise of reuniting with her husband. The woman had given him ₹1.50 lakh for the same. On Friday, Boominathan took Santhanalakshmi to a restaurant where he introduced her to a ‘godman’ Jothi. The ‘godman,’ Boominathan and Arumugam told Santhanalakshmi that they would take her to Kerala to perform a puja for reuniting the woman with her husband, and collected ₹ 50,000.
Santhanalakshmi, in her complaint, alleged that on reaching East Masi Street, the ‘godman’ called off the Kerala trip, claiming the day was not auspicious. Following this, the ‘godman’ had applied a powder-like substance on Santhanalakshmi’s forehead and she fell unconscious.
When she regained consciousness, she realised that she had been sexually abused. She alleged that Boominathan’s father Karanthamalai intimidated over phone, threatening her of dire consequences if she revealed the matter to anyone.
The police registered cases under Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act and various other Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 for cheating and 506 for criminal intimidation.
