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Coimbatore college student rape: Police arrest 3 accused after shooting them in legs
However, during the nabbing, the police had to shoot the three accused in the legs as they tried to flee.
Following the sexual assault of a college student near Coimbatore airport, Coimbatore City Police Commissioner Saravana Sundar has confirmed the arrest of the three accused. As per an ANI report on Tuesday, the three accused were arrested by cops.
However, during the nabbing, the police had to shoot the three accused in the legs as they tried to flee.
“The accused were trying to escape from the spot when the police had to shoot them in the leg in Vellakinaru, on the outskirts of Coimbatore city. The injured accused are Guna, Karuppasamy, and Karthik alias Kaleeswaran. All the accused have been sent to GH Coimbatore. A head constable was also injured in the encounter,” Sundar told ANI.
Police fired shots as accused attempted to flee
As per reports, Peelamedu police were able to narrow down on the trio after assessing CCTV footage. The three were found hiding at an isolated place in Vellikinaru and have a criminal record.
Officials told PTI that the accused attacked the police team in a bid to escape and inflicted injuries on a police constable. However, the police opened fire and shot at all three suspects.
One of the accused sustained a gun shot in one leg, while the other two were injured in both legs due to the police opening fire.
Coimbatore rape sends shockwaves across Tamil Nadu
A female college student was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by three men on Sunday evening near Coimbatore airport.
The student was inside a car with a male friend at the time of the attack, HT reported earlier. The three accused broke the window, hit the friend and took the survivor to an undisclosed location where they allegedly raped her.
“The attack in the car happened around 11pm. The survivor was rescued this morning and is currently under treatment. We have formed seven teams to search for the accused,” a police officer in Coimbatore told HT.
The sexual assault has also sparked a political slugfest between the BJP and DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Following the news of the assault, BJP state president K Annamalai took to X to slam the deteriorating law and order and increasing sexual crimes against women and children in Tamil Nadu.
"Since the DMK came to power in TN, incidents like these have shown that anti-social elements no longer fear the law or the police. From DMK ministers to police officials, there has been a disturbing pattern of shielding sexual offenders instead of ensuring justice,” Annamalai said on X, adding that the Stalin government has "utterly failed in both preventing sexual crimes and providing safety for women".
