Thiruvanthapuram: The man arrested for assaulting a lady doctor near the museum here claimed he was innocent and alleged he was falsely implicated by the police.
"I have a lot to say. I did not commit this crime. They threatened my wife and made me confess. The evidence has been cooked up to trap me," he told reporters on Wednesday while the cops were taking him for evidence collection to the site of another crime — trespass — allegedly committed by him at Kuravankonam.
Santhosh is a temporary driver of Minister Roshi Augustine's private secretary and a contract employee of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). He allegedly molested a lady doctor a week ago while she was on her morning walk. He is also accused of trespassing into of a residential plot at Kuravankonam at midnight. Some have claimed he had earlier intruded into hostels.
Police nabbed Santhosh on Tuesday night. He was using an SUV of the KWA while committing the crimes, police said.
Police tracked him down after they found out that he was driving a government-owned vehicle, though he had masked the KWA sign board.
Santhosh was questioned on Tuesday night at Peroorkada police station. During interrogation, Santosh claimed that he parked his car and walked for hours to vent out his anger.
He had tonsured his head after the cops released a sketch made with the CCTV visuals, said sources.
Police said he is not cooperating with the probe despite the investigators showing scientific evidence for his involvement.
The Museum assault case made headlines as the cops failed to act following the complaint of the woman doctor, despite her reaching out to the police immediately.
The incident took place around 4.45 am near the Museum compound. Soon after the man assaulted her, she reached out to Museum security, who alerted the police.
The cops, who reached the spot in 10 minutes, apparently weren't too keen on finding the accused, as per the complainant.
They also told the complainant that the CCTVs in the area weren't working, and didn't follow up on the case.
She managed to dig up the visuals on her own and shared them with the media.
The visuals showed the man escaping in a vehicle, after hiding for a while inside the Museum premises.
The video clip also showed the woman chasing the man and falling down in the process.
After an outrage, the police circulated a sketch of the suspect.
After seeing the video, the woman staying in a house in Kuravankonam alleged that the same guy had entered her house premises multiple times.
Meanwhile, Minister Roshi Augustine told Manorama News that he has instructed his personal staff to remove Santhosh from his job. He also said he would not influence the police case against the driver.
