Kerala: Neighbour attacks 90-year-old cancer survivor, outrages her modesty'

Kollam: A 90-year-old woman living alone was allegedly assaulted and harassed by her neighbour after he trespassed into her house at Kadakkal in Kollam district.

Police said the nonagenarian woman, a widow and a cancer survivor, was attacked by the 63-year-old man last week.

"The man intruded into her house and attacked and behaved in a manner which amounted to outraging her modesty," District police chief Ajeetha Begum said.

He was arrested and charged under IPC Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 377 (unnatural offences).

"We have registered the case based on the statement given by the woman. She was sent to the hospital for detailed medical examination. The accused was arrested and IPC 354 and 377 were charged against him according to her statement," Ajeetha Begum said.

However, police dismissed reports aired by some television channels that the old woman was brutally raped.

Meanwhile, the state Human Rights Commission initiated suo moto into the incident based on media reports.

A few months back, a Dalit law student was brutally raped and killed by a migrant labour in Perumbavur in Ernakulam district, triggering heated debates on the safety of women in the state.