TN: Driver held for sexually abusing several women

Amid outrage over the Pollachi sexual harassment case, a car driver from Nagapattinam was arrested Saturday on charges of sexually abusing a 22-year-old woman with police saying he might have lured several women after promising to marry them.

The development comes days after the arrest of four men who had on February 12 allegedly tried to disrobe a 19-year-old woman inside a car near Pollachi, over 500 km from Coimbatore, recorded the act and blackmailed her using the visuals.

Nagapattinam police said the driver, Sundar, was arrested following a complaint from the parents of a 22-year-old woman belonging to Kilvelur in the district.

Police said the man had allegedly sexually abused several women after promising to marry them.

He had allegedly taken photos and videos of the women and sexually exploited them, threatening to post the footage on social media.

Police have seized the mobile phone used by Sundar, which allegedly contains several videos and photographs, sources said, adding details would be known only after a complete inquiry.

The Pollachi case assumed political overtones since a local functionary of the ruling AIADMK allegedly attacked the victim's brother.

The attack by the functionary, who was later expelled from the AIADMK, coupled with reports in a section of media that the gang had sexually harassed several other women led to an outrage.

The issue eventually snowballed into a political row and main opposition DMK targeted the AIADMK asking if it was protecting the accused.

A slew of protests by parties, including the DMK, students, and youth outfits escalated the row, bringing more pressure on the government and police for speedy action.

On March 12, hours after assigning the case to the CB-CID, the government decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI.