Vijayawada: A 32-year-old govt employee was brutally assaulted and raped by an unidentified man inside her home in Macherla town in Palandu district of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday afternoon. The assailant raped her at knifepoint, beat her up and then inserted an iron rod into her private parts. Police officials said the survivor was initially taken to the Narasaraopet area hospital, but was shifted to the Guntur Govt General Hospital’s gynaecology ward for better treatment. “Her condition is stable. She has been brought here as a precautionary measure,” Guntur GGH in-charge superintendent, Dr Srinivas Prasad, said. Sources said luckily for the survivor, the assault did not cause extensive damage to her private parts. Officials added that the woman, who works as an attendant at a govt department, was separated from her husband and had shifted from Sattenapalli town last year. Her nephew lives with her, but had gone to Sattenapalli to spend time with his family after his Class X exams.“The survivor was alone at home when the assailant knocked on her door, asking for water to drink, and then forced himself on her. The assault took place between 3:30pm and 4pm” , Macherla police inspector Venkata Ramana said.The accused tied the woman up with a scarf, gagged her with a piece of cloth, raped her and thrashed her severely. To save herself, the woman reportedly told him that she was suffering from an infectious disease. However, the accused continued the assault and inserted an iron rod into her private parts before running away, police said.The crime came to light when her nephew called her up multiple times, but received no response. Sensing something was wrong, he alerted his friends and relatives to check on her.When relatives reached the house, they found the woman unconscious and informed police, who shifted her to Macherla govt hospital initially, and later to Narasaraopet area hospital.. Speaking to TOI, Palnadu SP B Krishna Rao said, “We have deployed special teams to analyse CCTV footage and find other clues from the crime scene. Our officials have identified a suspect and a manhunt has been launched. The accused will be arrested soon.”Macherla MLA Julakanti Brahmananda Reddy expressed shock over the incident and spoke to Guntur range IG, Sarvashreshth Tripathi.
