COIMBATORE: An octogenarian woman was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man in Krishnagiri on New Year's Eve.

Police said the victim, an 80-year-old woman from Kelamangalam in Hosur, was making a livelihood by begging at the Hosur bus stand.

Her husband had passed away, and she was alone.

On Tuesday night, a youth approached the elderly woman at the bus stand and volunteered to drop her off in Kelamangalam by bike. On gaining the trust, he took her to a forest area in Perandapalli and sexually assaulted her.

Some people passing through the way heard her loud cries for help and went to check. Shocked at the plight of the victim, they sent the elderly woman by ambulance to the Hosur Government Hospital.

On receiving information, the Hosur All Women’s Police Station (AWPS) cops visited the hospital and held an inquiry.

She was then moved to Krishnagiri Government Medical College Hospital for further treatment.

Police are scanning the images recorded in CCTVs in the locality to identify the culprit.