HYDERABAD: A 51-year-old sanitation worker of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was raped on a foot over bridge in Erragadda on Friday by a 45-year-old watchman under the influence of alcohol. Police arrested the accused on Friday, and he was remanded in judicial custody.When the incident took place, the survivor was en route to attend her work during the early hours of Friday. After the assault, the GHMC worker contacted her family and approached a police check post near the crime scene, who in turn alerted Borabanda police.

Borabanda police said that at the time of the incident, the sanitation worker was on her way to her cleaning duties in AG Colony around 4 am. To reach the colony, she got onto the foot over bridge located near ESI Hospital to cross the highway.“The sanitation worker was intercepted by the accused on the foot over bridge. He threatened to harm her and raped her. After the assault, the accused fled from the spot,” said a Borabanda police official.Based on the complaint of the survivor, police verified the CCTV footage at different places near the crime scene and identified the accused as a watchman at an apartment in Model Colony, Sanathnagar. Based on the survivor’s complaint, a case was registered under Section 64 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).“We arrested the accused on Friday. He was produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial remand,” SR Nagar ACP SV Raghavendra Rao said. The survivor was sent for medical examination, and she was counselled at the Bharosa centre.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)