Coimbatore gangrape: 2 accused are history-sheeters with murder charge; trio out on bail for a month

COIMBATORE: Three men were arrested in connection with the gang rape of a college student near Coimbatore International Airport on Sunday night. They were shot in the legs while trying to escape from the police.

Police said two of the three have previous cases, including a murder charge.City police commissioner A Saravana Sundar held a press conference at the office of the city police commissioner on Tuesday. He stated that the three arrested individuals were identified as T Kaleeswaran, 20, and T Karuppasamy, 30, both siblings from Sivagangai district, and their relative M Guna, 24, from Madurai.Kaleeswaran and Karuppasamy have several pending cases in various police stations in Coimbatore city and rural areas.

They also have a murder case in Kinathukadavu station in Coimbatore district. The trio, who were previously arrested in a theft case, were out on bail for a month. On the day of the incident, the trio consumed liquor at a Tasmac liquor shop in Irugur, bought more liquor, and went to the crime scene, where they continued drinking.They found the 20-year-old college student from Madurai and her 24-year-old boyfriend from Ondipudur in the city inside a car.

They damaged the car with stones and deadly weapons, breaking the glass. They then assaulted the boyfriend and kidnapped the girl, taking her to an isolated dark place located nearly 1 km away from where the car was parked.Based on information received from the boyfriend, police rushed to the scene and rescued the girl. Since it was very dark and the trio had taken the girl behind a compound wall, it took a couple of hours to locate her.

Both were rescued and admitted to the hospital, where they are in stable condition.Subsequently, seven special teams were formed to apprehend the rapists. During investigations, police found that the trio was hiding in a deserted place near Vellakkinaru in Thudiyalur. When police surrounded them, they attempted to escape by attacking the officers, during which a cop, Chandrasekar, sustained injuries to his wrist. In retaliation, police shot them in their legs and apprehended them.The injured were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, and further investigation is underway, the police commissioner said.