Woman identifies accused in sexual harassment case

Thiruvananthapuram | An IT professional who was sexually harassed in her hostel room at Kazhakoottam here identified the accused on Monday, police said.

The accused, Benjamin (35) of Madurai, a lorry operator transporting cargo from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram, was identified by the victim during a procedure held by the police.

According to police, the victim had reported that an unidentified man entered her hostel room while she was asleep and sexually harassed her on October 17. The attacker fled after she woke up and resisted.

A special team was formed to investigate, as the victim was initially unable to identify the perpetrator. Police tracked Benjamin after examining CCTV footage and vehicle movements from Madurai on Sunday, and he was subsequently brought to Thiruvananthapuram.

Police said Benjamin had been involved in five theft cases in Tamil Nadu. He had come to a shop at Kazhakoottam to transport cargo from Chennai.

After unloading, he reportedly checked several houses for potential burglary targets. Realising people were present, he abandoned those attempts but later identified the hostel for burglary, police said.

“The main door of the hostel was open, as many inmates working in various companies returned late. He then entered the room where the victim was sleeping and sexually harassed her,” a police officer said.

When the victim resisted, he fled to his parked lorry.

He left the city on October 18 and went to Kollam for loading cargo to Madurai, police said.

CCTV footage proving crucial in tracing him, the Tamil Nadu police assisted in trapping Benjamin. “He had parked the lorry on the roadside. Following our instructions, Tamil Nadu police contacted him to move the vehicle, leading him into the trap,” the officer said.

Despite an attempted escape, he was apprehended, police said.

Benjamin was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.

Police will approach the court seeking his custody for further investigation, the officer added.