Man arrested within hours for trespassing into hostel and attacking young woman

Police arrested a 27-year-old man a few hours after he attempted to attack a woman who had trespassed into the nurses’ hostel attached to a private hospital in the city on Sunday afternoon.

The accused was identified as Muhammad Ajmal (27) from Puthoor near Parath Club in Panoor. The incident took place at around 13.30 on December 14, when he allegedly entered the hostel illegally and attempted to sexually assault a young woman staying there.

According to police, the suspect grabbed the woman and tried to harass her without alarming her. Acting on the complaint, Sub-Inspector K. Ashwathy of Thalassery police station went to the spot and started an investigation.

Police collected security camera footage from the area and distributed the images through WhatsApp groups to track the suspect’s movements. During investigation, officers received information that the accused had also trespassed into another house at Narangapuram in Thalassery.

A police team led by SHO Biju Prakash and SI Ashwathy carried out extensive searches in the town and surrounding areas. The accused was finally caught at Sadanandapai petrol pump in Thalassery at 6.10pm. He was taken into custody after a short chase. The complainant later identified the suspect at the police station.

Police said the accused is a habitual criminal who has four criminal cases against him, including rape and robbery, at various police stations.