Son charged with sex assault, woman kills self

CHENNAI: Unable to bear the ignominy of her son being accused of sexually assaulting a toddler, a 58-year-old woman committed suicide in Chennai.
Police said Kasthuri hanged herself on Monday night after police came looking for her son Muthu Kumaran (32), a cab driver, charged with molestation based on the complaint filed by the 18-month-old girl’s parents.
Police said Kumaran was well known to the child’s family and was seen playing with her on Sunday afternoon. Her mother often allowed Kumaran to play with the child as he was her neighbour. “On Sunday she took the child from Kumaran and reached home only to find bruises all over the child’s body. She suspected something amiss and informed her husband,” said Kani, a resident.
When she came to know about the incident, Kasthuri tried to pacify the child’s mother and requested her not to lodge a complaint. She claimed her son was innocent and promised to bear the cost of the child’s treatment. The girl was then admitted to a government hospital. But her mother filed a complaint and police came looking for Kumaran on Monday night.
When Kasthuri pleaded ignorance about his whereabouts, police took one of her other three sons for questioning. “The man was drunk when he assaulted the child. She is fine and was discharged from the hospital,” said inspector M Dharma of Mylapore all women police station.
A neighbour said Kasthuri was living separately from her husband and brought up all her children on her own. Her family alleged that the child’s parents demanded Rs 1 lakh to not to lodge a complaint. Police have launched a hunt for Kumaran.