CHENNAI: The police on Friday arrested a 32-year-old man for murdering a 60-year-old homeless woman in Neelankarai after she resisted his attempt to rape her.

The mentally-challenged woman was living on a pavement at Anna Nagar near Neelankarai. Police sources said the woman used to often consume liquor and pass out on the sidewalk. The accused N Vinoth, a resident of Villupuram, offered her liquor and, after getting drunk, attempted to rape her, police investigations revealed.

When she resisted his advances, the enraged man beat her up and fled the spot. A passerby noticed the woman lying unconscious with bloody injuries and moved her to a hospital where she was declared as brought dead. The Neelankarai police registered a case of murder and arrested Vinoth. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.