Three arrested for raping PG student near Coimbatore Airport

Chennai: The police have arrested the three accused in the gang-rape of a postgraduate college student near Coimbatore International Airport on Sunday.

The 21-year-old victim, hailing from Madurai is a first-year postgraduate student at a private Arts college in Coimbatore. She resided in a private hostel and had gone out on Sunday with her boyfriend, a resident of Ondipudur.

The couple were in a car, parked in Prithvivan Nagar, behind the airport when the incident occured around 11 pm. The three men approached them while they were talking and ordered them to get out of the car. 

However, when the couple refused and attempted to flee, the men smashed the windows. The boyfriend was attacked with a sickle and left unconscious. The accused then dragged the student to a nearby area and raped her at knifepoint. 

After her boyfriend regained consciousness around 2 am, he called the emergency helpline and informed the police, who then launched an immediate search operation. The survivor was found about a kilometre away in a severely traumatised state.

Police rescued her and admitted her to a private hospital, while her friend was treated at the Coimbatore Government Hospital.

A special team led by Peelamedu Police formed seven squads to track down the culprits using CCTV footage from the area.

The police, acting on a tip-off, tracked down the men, Guna, Satheesh Karuppasamy, and Karthik Kaleeswaran, who were hiding near Pattatharasi Amman Temple in Thudiyalur. They were chased down and taken into custody after a gunfire exchange early on Tuesday.

In the commotion, the accused attacked police officers, injuring Constable Chandrasekar on the left arm. The police responded by opening fire, wounding the suspects in their legs.

(With IANS inputs)