Hyderabad: A 23-year-old woman was molested by an auto driver-cum-Tollywood junior artiste when she was walking near a park at Narayanguda on February 3 morning. The suspect, Varthiya Raju, saw the woman walking alone, stopped his vehicle in front of her, ran towards her and molested her. When the woman shouted, the suspect fled in his auto. Police traced the vehicle with the help of CCTV footage, and arrested him on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at around 6.30 am. “I was on my morning walk and had reached near Melkote Park at Vithalwadi. An autorickshaw came from behind and stopped in front of me. A man stepped out, rushed towards me and started grabbing my body,” said the victim, who is also a student, in her complaint.
The suspect Raju, who has acted in small roles as villains’ sidekicks in a few Tollywood flicks, was drunk at the time, police suspects. Police thinks that Raju had been drinking the previous night. The area was deserted. The victim said that her fellow morning walkers were a few meters away.
“We booked a case against the suspect. We checked footage from 30 CCTV cameras to trace the autorickshaw. Our team identified the vehicle and arrested the suspect,” said Narayanguda Inspector S. Bheem Reddy. Police said the 25 -year-old Raju belongs to Namappally mandal in Nalgonda district. He is married and has a child.
“He does small roles in movies and works as an auto driver hiring vehicles from his friends. We are investigating if he was involved in any other sexual offenses,” said an officer. Raju was booked for outraging a woman’s modesty and wrongful restraint.
