The scandal and shock that we experience when we hear the news of sexual assault, molestation or rape has been trivialised in recent years, owing to the sheer number of cases that we come across every time we flick open the television, or pick up the newspaper.
Yet another addition to this shameful act was encountered by Chennai police when they arrested a man on a completely unrelated crime of robbery, only to discover that he was a serial rapist, who had assaulted over 50 women in Chennai.
The matter came to light when 28-year-old, Madhan Arivalagan from Mathur in Krishnagiri was taken into custody for questioning by the police in a robbery case. However, when the police proceeded to investigate his phone, they found videos of rapes committed by the accused.
An investigating officer told Times of India about the nature of the videos along with the method with which the accused committed these crimes. He said,
“Arivalagan sexually assaulted women after trapping them alone at home. He recorded the acts on his cellphone in several cases and used the footage to blackmail and repeatedly rape the women. We have received a first formal rape complaint against him and expect more to follow.”
He also said that although there are some people who have been courageous enough to step forward, many of the women may choose to never come forward and charge him.
A formal employee at a software company, the accused confessed that he was unable to find a suitable job and hence, took the path of crime and started robbing people. He raped one robbery victim and eventually gravitated towards being a predator.
The accused would have never been arrested had the police not found evidence of him being a prime suspect in a mugging case, when he robbed a software engineer and made away with Rs 8500 cash.
The police have also disclosed that the accused has confessed to raping several women at knifepoint.
Victims of sexual assault have started coming forward to speak up against the predators who subjected them to the horrible crime. The only thing that holds them back is the fear of society shaming them. Therefore, it is our responsibility as a society to empower these victims, to help out the perpetrators behind bars.
