TN gangrape accused trio shot in legs, arrested in late-night police operation

A day after the gang rape of a 21-year-old college student near the Coimbatore international airport, the Tamil Nadu police arrested the three culprits by shooting them down on their legs on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

Congratulating the police for nabbing the accused within a day by acting swiftly, Chief Minister M K Stalin said no amount of strong words would suffice to condemn the inhuman crime. He also directed the police to file the charge sheet within a month and secure maximum punishment for the culprits.

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Earlier, Coimbatore City Police Commissioner A Saravana Sundar, explaining the operation to the media, said, “The police were forced to open fire since the trio attempted to escape from their hideout at Vellakinaru near Thudiyalyur on the outskirts.”

He gave the identities of the three arrested as Karuppasamy @ Satheesh (30), his brother Kaleeswaran @ Karthik (21) of Singampunari in Sivaganga district, and their distant relative Guna @ Thavasi (20) of Madurai District. The brothers have multiple cases against them including murder and theft, the Commissioner added.

While Karuppasamy and Guna sustained bullet injuries in both their legs, Kaleeswaran was shot in one leg when they tried to assault the police team and attempted to flee the place. All three have been admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital.

“The accused were staying at Irugur, about 4 km from the deserted vacant land behind the airport where the incident took place. On Sunday night, after consuming liquor at Irugur, they came in a stolen two-wheeler to the vacant land and consumed another bottle at around 11 pm.

“On sighting the lonely car and the duo inside, they broke the glass window with stone and when the male friend came out, they attacked him with a sickle and stone on the head before dragging the woman forcibly out. They took her to a deserted place and committed the crime and fled the place leaving the two-wheeler near the car,” Sundar explained, adding that the woman came out on her own later on.

While the siblings had been staying in Coimbatore for the last 10 years, doing odd jobs, Guna joined them only a few months back. Based on digital evidence, including visuals from 300 surveillance cameras, the accused were zeroed in based on specific information that they were hiding at Vellakinaru.

When the police team surrounded them, they attacked a police constable with a sickle, prompting the police to open fire on their legs, the Commissioner said. The police have also recovered the victim’s mobile phone and gold ring from the arrested trio.

The three have been booked under various sections of the BNS and section 70 (gang rape) will also be invoked after obtaining the statement of the survivor, police said.

Meanwhile, both the survivor and her boyfriend, being treated at different hospitals, are stable and she is being given counselling.