KOZHIKODE: Police on Tuesday booked a 15-year-old boy for allegedly attempting to rape a 21-year-old woman under Kondotty police station limits in Malappuram.
The accused, who is a Class X student, was charged under IPC section 511 of 376 (attempt to rape), 307 (attempt to murder) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).
According to the police, the woman was on her way to attend classes at a computer training centre when the boy, who is a resident, grabbed her from behind and dragged her to a plantain field on the side of the road and tried to force himself on her at 1pm on Monday.
Malappuram police chief Sujith Das S said the accused tried to strangle her by pressing her neck and had hit her on the head with a stone when she resisted his rape attempt. He added that the accused confessed his crime during questioning.
“The boy was physically strong and a judo player. The accused had pressed the woman forcefully on her neck and it could have even caused her death. Also, he had hit her on the head with a stone, but it did not cause serious injuries. The woman fought back hard and his attack bid failed,” Das said.
The woman managed to run away and took shelter in a nearby house. “She came running, crying and fell down on reaching my house. Her clothes were torn and he had tied her hands using her own cloth,” said Fathima, the resident of the house where the woman sought shelter. She was later taken to Manjeri medical college.
Police zeroed in on the accused on the basis of the description given by the woman. Also, police could identify the boy in the CCTV footage obtained from nearby homes.
Das said that the accused had intentionally followed the woman, whose house was 1.5km away from the spot of the attack, for quite some distance before he attacked her at a relatively-secluded location. When people at his house questioned the boy on seeing his soiled clothes and about the scratches on his body, he claimed that he had fallen down when a stray dog came to attack him.
Police said that as the accused was a minor, he will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
