Kerala woman techie groped during accident rescue, Alappuzha man booked

The Kayamkulam police have booked a man for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, who had sustained injuries in an accident. The accused has been identified as Sinil Savaad from Chirakkadavam, Alappuzha. The woman is employed as an IT professional at a Thiruvananthapuram-based firm.

The incident occurred on April 3, while the woman was returning from a pilgrimage to Malayattoor with her friend, her husband, and their two children. The vehicle that the trio were travelling in rammed into a divider at the KPAC junction at Kayamkulam. 

Following the accident, the vehicle's occupants, who were trapped inside, were rescued by residents of the region. The accused, who lives nearby, then volunteered to take the woman to the hospital in his goods auto. “While I was being walked into the vehicle, I asked them to stop due to pain,” the survivor told Onmanorama. “The man then said that they would carry me into the auto and groped me while doing so,” she added.

The survivor alleged that she sustained serious bruising from the assault, but was not able to respond to it at the moment as she was experiencing an asthma attack induced by the accident. “I wanted to say something, but was unable to. Even when I screamed in pain, everyone around thought it was due to the accident injuries,” she told Onmanorama. She also added that at the time, she was more concerned about reaching a hospital and being treated for her breathing difficulty.

She said that it was when the doctor noticed the bruises during the examination and asked her about them that she opened up about the incident. The doctor then encouraged her to inform the police, following which she visited the Kayamkulam station and filed the complaint on April 4.

The accused has been booked under sections 74 (assault or criminal force to outrage modesty) and 75(1)(i) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.