Visakhapatnam: Woman raped in broad daylight while people remained mute spectators

A 40-year-old destitute woman was allegedly raped by a drunk young man near a busy road here in broad daylight while the onlookers remained mute spectators, the police said.

An autorickshaw driver recorded the incident on Sunday on his mobile phone and called the police which detained the man, Visakhapatnam's Assistant Commissioner of Police (East) A Narasimha Murthy said.

The culprit, identified as 21-year-old Ganji Siva, was formally arrested yesterday and booked for rape under the Indian Penal Code, the official said, adding he has been remanded in judicial custody.

Siva, a juvenile delinquent, had earlier been convicted in a theft case, he said.

According to the police, the woman had left her husband a month back following marital discord and her relatives too turned her away. She had been staying on the pavement for the past few days.

On Sunday, the accused was in an inebriated condition when he came across the destitute woman sitting on a pavement in Railway New Colony and allegedly raped her, they said, adding passersby remained mute spectators.

A man, who was passing the area in his autorickshaw, captured the incident on his mobile phone and called the police.

"Based on the video, we arrested the accused. He was remanded in judicial custody yesterday. The victim had been taken to KG Hospital for medical examination. The blood samples of both the accused and the victim have been collected and sent for forensic tests," Murthy said.

-PTI