Sexual harassment drives woman to take rat poison

A 40-year-old woman consumed rat-kill after she was allegedly sexually harassed by her superior at a Railway Hospital in the city on Friday.

Sources said Alamelu (40), widow of Thanappa, a sweeper at Perambur Railway Hospital, was reportedly being harassed by the hospital’s chief health inspector Nagaraj (45), for the past two years.

On Friday, Nagaraj, who was on his way to a conference, had allegedly harassed the woman once again, which forced her to take the drastic step. She was admitted to the same hospital.

Meanwhile, members of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) staged a protest in front of the hospital seeking action against Nagaraj. The hospital management issued suspension orders against Nagaraj charging him of sexually harassing the woman. However, the agitators kept insisting that the police register a case against Nagaraj. Policemen from ICF station held talks with the protestors, but they refused to budge. They claimed that the police was not willing to file a case. They also alleged that a previous complaint from Alamelu was not entertained.

A few policemen spoke to the victim and took her statement. Subsequently, her complaint was taken by the police and a Community Service Register (CSR) receipt was issued.

Police were tight-lipped about the sexual harassment charge. An investigating officer said that the complaint was that she was frequently scolded by Nagaraj in abusive words. “He had used abusive language against her as per the complainant and we are pursuing the complaint,” the official said.