Constable in Avadi held for harassing woman petitioner

CHENNAI: A police constable attached to the Avadi Crime Wing police station was suspended, after he was arrested for harassing a woman petitioner who approached him for help in recovering her stolen two-wheeler.

The case took a nasty turn when the constable lured the woman to a resort under false pretences, but her brother intervened in time and rescued her. The arrested cop was identified as Haridas.

The victim, a married woman and mother from Poonamallee, filed a complaint with the Avadi Crime Wing after her scooter was stolen near a police check post. When the stolen vehicle was found, Haridas, who was part of the investigation, contacted the woman and allegedly demanded Rs 15,000 and later, sexually harassed her.

He allegedly invited her to a resort in Avadi, where he had booked a room. Shocked by the advances, she informed her brother, who accompanied her to the location. When they confronted Haridas at the resort, a heated altercation ensued.

Alerted by the resort management, local police arrived at the scene and took Haridas into custody. The woman and her brother subsequently filed a formal complaint with ACP Kanagaraj. Based on their statements and preliminary inquiry, a case was registered by the Avadi All-Women Police.

Following the incident, Avadi Police Commissioner K Shankar ordered Haridas’s immediate suspension. He was produced before a magistrate court and remanded to judicial custody in Puzhal jail.