CHENNAI: For the last four months, the residents of a hamlet at Thiruporur in Kanchipuram district are a panic-stricken lot, following the nocturnal visits of a mystery man and his strange affliction: scratching the chest of sleeping young women with a blade. On Saturday, a north Indian construction labourer was arrested in connection with the incidents.Two complaints from residents of Kannagapattu village at the Thiruporur police station around July started it all. “Like in other villages, the families sleep outdoors or inside with the door only partially closed,” a police officer told Express. “Somebody was sneaking into their houses at night, scratching the women on their chest and making his escape.”While no one actually saw the intruder, the incidents were true, as the women had injuries on their chest and their upper garments were also found torn at the spot, the officer said. Two cases were reported at the police station, with the complainants pointing fingers at the youth living next-door. Suspecting that previous enmity could have led to the incidents, the police picked up the youth and despite his vehement protests of innocence, arrested him under Section 354 (assault on woman).They were in for a shock, when a month later a third case was reported. This time, the Kannagapattu villagers, including the earlier complainants, came to the police station and claimed that the arrested youth was innocent and that the attacks were the handiwork of someone else, the police officer said. “While we stepped up our patrolling, the villagers formed teams and started doing night rounds.”When a fourth case was reported two days ago, the police and villagers intensified their patrolling. In the wee hours of Saturday, the residents caught hold of a man, who was loitering in the area. Short, hefty and wearing clothes similar to the attacker, their suspicions were further fuelled when they saw him carrying Tamil magazines of newspapers. “The face and body of women posing glamorously on the cover were defaced or burnt, making them suspect that he was a psychopath,” the official said.After giving him a sound thrashing, the villagers handed him over to the police. Grilled, he identified himself as Vimal Dhoot (45) of Nandeshwar in Midnapore district, West Bengal. He said he worked as a labourer at a nearby construction site and denied his involvement in the incidents. Asked about the magazines, he claimed that he found them in a garbage dump. A search of his pockets did not yield any razor blade, though a packet was allegedly found in the room he was sharing with others.
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