Two police constables posted at the Tiruvannamalai East Police Station were arrested and suspended this week after being accused of abducting and raping a young woman from Andhra Pradesh near the Endal bypass road in Tiruvannamalai, a temple town south of Chennai.

The suspects, identified as constables Suresh Raj and Sundar, were on night patrol duty late Monday when they stopped a goods-laden vehicle travelling from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.

The vehicle carried two women, who are related and were on their way to the Arunachaleshwar Temple, one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the state. According to investigators, the policemen ordered the women to step down for a “routine vehicle check.” They then allegedly forcibly separated the younger woman, dragged her to a nearby grove, and

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