A 28-year-old history sheeter was among eight persons held for a sexual assault attempt and on charges of robbing four grams of gold earrings from a young woman along Girivalam Path in Tiruvannamalai on Tuesday.

The police said that the key suspect and history sheeter has been identified as K. Vasudevan, a resident of Adaiyur village near Arunachala Hills in the town. The other suspects are B. Akash (23), R. Tamilarasan (27), G. Appu (24), A. Hariharan (27), V. Sharma (23), N. Balaji (25) and S. Arun Kumar (29).

The key suspect Vasudevan has been involved in several cases, including cell phone robbing and chain snatching at surrounding police stations such as Tiruvannamalai Town and East. The police said that a gang, led by him, indulged in criminal activities, especially around Arunachaleswara temple and the path in the temple during festival seasons and holidays.

The police said that the woman was returning to her house in town on the path on May 31 when Vasudevan and his gang waylaid her. He robbed her earrings before he allegedly attempted to sexually assault her. The gang left the spot with the robbed valuables.

The police said she narrated the incident to her parents, who lodged a complaint with Tiruvannamalai West police. A case was registered. 

Superintendent of Police M. Sudhakar also inspected the spot as part of investigation. Special teams were formed to probe into the incident. Police sources said that seven members of the gang, who were present at the time of the incident, were also detained and special teams have been questioning them about the incident. CCTV camera footage on the route is also being analysed. A detailed probe is under way.