In a horrifying turn of events, Chennai police arrested a man on charges of robbery, only to discover that he is a serial rapist too. On Thursday, November 16, Madhan Arivalagan was brought into a police station for questioning following a mugging incident. During their investigation, the police browsed through his phone and were taken aback by what they had found. Reportedly, Arivalagan had videos of him sexually assaulting several women recorded on his phone.
While speaking to TOI, an investigating officer reported,
Arivalagan sexually assaulted women after trapping them alone at home. He recorded the acts on his cellphone in several cases and used the footage to blackmail and repeatedly rape the women.
The Chennai police have already registered a formal complaint against Arivalagan on charges of rape, and the number of complaints is expected to pour in.
While questioning him, the police found that Arivalagan has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Krishnagiri College and used to work with a software company in Bengaluru. Reportedly, he then moved to Chennai where he struggled to find work. Hence, he started robbing people.
The police 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 turned into a sexual predator.
An officer told TOI that Arivalagan confessed to raping several women at knifepoint. “He gained entry by asking them for water to drink or for directions to an address.” Another officer reported that he would also threaten to show the videos to the victims’ husbands and family members. He would then rape them repeatedly.
The Velachery Police got their hands on Arivalagan after a complaint was lodged by a software engineer against a robber who had looted Rs 8,500 cash from his house earlier. Arivalagan was later identified from security footage and was arrested from his residence in Maduvankarai.
