Student abducted, gang-raped near Coimbatore airport; friend assaulted
19-year-old reportedly dragged out of car by three men, sexually assaulted near the airport; friend attacked and chased away; 7 police teams hunt for culprits
A college student was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three men near Coimbatore international airport on Sunday (November 2) night.
According to Tamil Nadu police, the men, as yet unidentified, allegedly attacked and chased away the 19-year-old student’s male friend, took her to a secluded spot, and sexually assaulted her. Both the student and her friend have been admitted to hospital.
Kidnapped and raped
The woman is reportedly a student at a private college in Coimbatore. She was reportedly in a car with the male friend when the criminals attacked them around 11 pm on Sunday. They allegedly took her forcibly to a vacant plot near the airport, where they gang-raped her.
The friend, who was seriously injured too while resisting the criminals, managed to reach Peelamedu police station, says an IANS report. The police launched a search and found the student lying unconscious in the vacant plot.
Renewed concerns over safety
The incident near the high-security airport area has sent shockwaves across the city. Police have said seven special teams have been formed to trace the culprits. They are reportedly scanning CCTV footage and questioning potential witnesses.
Also read: Anna University rape case: Day after verdict, Annamalai alleges foul-play
The incident has once again raised concerns over the rise in sexual crimes in Tamil Nadu, which was rocked by the rape of a student at Anna University earlier this year.
The Opposition BJP attacked the DMK government again over law-and-order concerns on Monday. Former BJP state chief K Annamalai claimed that ever since the DMK has come to power in the state, “incidents like these have shown that anti-social elements no longer fear the law or the police”.
BJP’s tirade
“The news of a college student being sexually assaulted by three miscreants near Coimbatore International Airport last night, while she was speaking with her friend, is deeply shocking and heartbreaking. I pray for her speedy recovery and strength as she undergoes treatment,” he wrote on X.
“From DMK ministers to police officials, there has been a disturbing pattern of shielding sexual offenders instead of ensuring justice. The DMK government has utterly failed in both preventing sexual crimes and providing safety for women,” he alleged in the post.
Also read: After Pollachi verdict, Stalin vows justice in Kodanad heist and murder case
“Instead of deploying the police to protect citizens and uphold law and order, the DMK government uses them merely to arrest its critics. As a result, Tamil Nadu finds itself in a state of alarming decline,” he added.
Promise of stringent action
BJP Tamil Nadu chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy told news agency IANS, “It is not surprising because in the last four-and-a-half years under DMK rule, incidents like these have been happening regularly throughout the state... There is no control or policing. That is the main issue... Right from the lawyer level up to the top level, all political parties have got gundas, rowdies, thugs as their leaders.”
NDTV quoted DMK spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah as saying that the incident was “unfortunate”. He added, according to the report, that Tamil Nadu takes stringent action against perpetrators of sexual crimes, cases are fast-tracked, and there are stringent laws. Law will take its course in this case too, he reportedly said.
(With agency inputs)