Teen arrested for raping 18-month-old child in Tambaram

The accused, Suresh (name changed) of Kannadapalayam in West Tambaram, is a daily wage worker. The child’s parents, who hail from the same locality, are also daily wage workers, said the police. After they left for work, the child’s grandmother was taking care of her. As the woman had to go out for some work on Sunday, she asked Suresh to look after the child till she returned.

When the grandmother returned in the evening, the child was crying continuously. Suresh told her that she was crying as mosquitoes bit her and left the house.

As the child didn’t stop crying, the parents took her to the Chromepet Government Hospital on Monday morning, from where the child was referred to the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children in Egmore.

The doctors who checked the child found injury marks on her private parts and confirmed that she was sexually assaulted. They immediately informed the Tambaram all-women police station. After an inquiry, the police found that the child was raped by Suresh. Following this, the police registered a case against him and launched a search for him.

On Tuesday morning, the villagers who spotted Suresh thrashed him and handed him over to the police. Police said Suresh used to supply ganja in the locality and he was high on drugs while raped the baby. He was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.