Woman harassed to death in Chennai

The three women refused to reply and walked away. One of the men then drove the autorickshaw and ran over Durga. She was severely injured in the head and later in the night died at the Government General Hospital.

The police have arrested all the six, in their late-20s, from Pulianthope. Police said they were returning from the Besant Nagar beach and were drunk. Cases have been registered on charges of murder, rioting, assault on a woman to outrage her modesty and criminal intimidation resultingin death. The arrested have been remanded to judicial custody.

Last July, nine men in an autorickshaw ran over a city college student, Sarika Shah. A few days later, she died. The incident had led to the enactment of a stringent legislation against eve-teasing8217;. The case is pending with the Metropolitan Magistrate Court while the accused are on bail.

In the week following the incident, nearly 600 persons were arrested in an aggressive drive against harassment.

Subsequently, a few harassment cases came to light, including a recent one in the suburban Kodungaiyur, when a young girl sustained head injuries.

Though security was stepped up near women8217;s colleges and bus stands after Shah8217;s death, it has gradually been relaxed.

Meanwhile, various political parties have condemned the incident. The Tamil Maanila Congress women8217;s wing will demonstrate in front of the city police commissioner8217;s office tomorrow morning. It condemned increasing crimes against women in the city, while demanding that casesagainst anti-social elements be disposed of swiftly so that such trials combined with maximum punishment act as a deterrent.