Japanese national allegedly raped by store-owner in Kovalam, undergoes surgery

The victim was in India for a 12-day tour.

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A Japanese woman was raped by a man in Kovalam of Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

The 35-year-old woman, who was a nurse in Kobe city of Japan, had undergone a surgery following serious internal injury and is still admitted in SAT hospital Thiruvananthapuram.

The accused Theja Lakshman, 25, who runs a handicraft-shop near Kovalam, has been taken into custody. Police said that his arrest will be registered only after the woman gives her statement to the district magistrate.

According to police, the woman reached Kovalam on Friday and she spoke to the accused when she visited his shop.

Some of the locals had told police that they saw this woman going with Theja in a jeep.

“He took her to his room and they were both drinking beer. Later when she was about to leave, he made sexual advances and raped her,” a police officer from Kovalam police station said.

Later in the evening the woman reached to the hotel she stayed.

“She was suffering from serious bleeding and became unconscious. Later hotel staff took her to hospital. It was after the surgery we took statements from her,” he added.

The victim was in India for a 12-day tour.