The police have arrested a 38-year-old man, posing like a mendicant, who attempted to rape a 30-year-old American woman in Tiruvannamalai on Sunday morning. Since the woman knew martial arts, she overpowered him and handed him over to the police.
According to police, the woman came to Tiruvannamalai in March and was planning to return after visiting Ramana Ashram. However, she was stranded here due to the lockdown. She extended her visa, and took a house on rent at the Girivalam Path recently.
On Sunday morning, when she was outside, a mendicant walked towards her with a weapon. He pushed her inside her house and attempted to rape her. "However, the man did not know that she was trained in martial arts. She overpowered him easily and raised an alarm. Hearing her shout, village residents rushed to help her. They nabbed the man and informed the police,” said a police officer.
The police took him to the station and during inquiry, he revealed his name was Manikandan. He was 34 and was from Rasipuram near Namakkal. “For the past 17 years, he has been visiting pilgrimage centres across the country. He went to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh and six months ago, he came to Tiruvannamalai. He was sleeping on the pavement,” said the officer. Further investigations are on.
The police are checking if he has any cases against him. “There are a lot of mendicants staying along the Girivalam Path. Initially, many of them were provided with identity cards. We are planning to collect their biometric details to keep track. There may be a few who have found refuge here after committing a crime elsewhere. Some may have grown their hair and beards in order to avoid getting detected. We have to identify them,” the officer said.
