Chennai: A 28-year-old former software techie was arrested in Chennai following a robbery case turns out to be a serial rapist who has have assaulted nearly 50 women.
The accused identified as Madhan Arivalagan, a native of Mathur in Krishnagiri district is a BSc (Maths) graduate from a Krishnagiri college and previously worked in a software firm in Bengaluru for a couple of years before moving to Chennai in 2015. He was arrested after being suspected of a robbery and was taken in for questioning.
The Chennai Police on Thursday has detained Arivalagan after a techie filed a complaint against him saying the robber had mugged him at knifepoint near his house a few days ago and ran away with Rs 8,500 in cash.
After going through the video footage the Police suspected Arivalagan as the prime accuse and took him in for questioning.
The Investigators were shocked after what they found in the accused’s cellphone which turned out to be the evidences to the rapes he has done so far, which he used to blackmail the victims.
The accused was then interrogated for the video evidence found on his cell phone by the Investigating team.
The officer said, “Arivalagan admitted that he had raped several women at knifepoint in their houses.”
Speaking of him, the officer said, “Arivalagan sexually assaulted women after trapping them alone at home,” and “He recorded the acts on his cellphone in several cases and used the footage to blackmail and repeatedly rape the women.”
He said, “We have received a first formal rape complaint against Arivalagan and expect more to follow,” adding, “Many of the women, of course, may choose to never come forward and charge him.”
“Arivalagan told us during interrogation that he was looking for a job in the city but could not find suitable employment,” the investigating officer said.
“He started to rob people on the roads and in their homes, often targeting women who were home alone. He raped one robbery victim and soon gravitated into a sexual predator.”