Tamil Nadu Police have arrested three men for the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a college student near Coimbatore airport.
The attack happened around 11 pm on Sunday night when the woman was reportedly in a car with a male friend. The three accused -- Thavasi, Karthik and Kaliswaran -- reportedly broke the window, hit the friend and abducted the woman. They then took her to another location and allegedly raped her.
The survivor was rescued the next morning and is undergoing treatment.
The hunt for the accused turned into a brief encounter early Tuesday morning. According to the police, the accused were shot in the legs as they were trying to escape. They were arrested and admitted to the hospital.
The incident has triggered a political row in Tamil Nadu with opposition BJP and AIADMK targeting Chief Minister MK Stalin's government over law and order and women safety in the state.
The BJP leader K Annamalai called the Coimbatore incident "utterly shocking".
Women safety has been a major worry throughout India. As per the government of India 2022 report, there were over 31,000 rape cases registered, which constitutes an average of 87 rapes a day.
The most targeted age group is between 18 to 30. The victims age group ranged between 6 and 60 years old. 32 rape victims were aged below 6 years. The states with the highest rape victims is Rajasthan with 5408 victims, Uttar Pradesh 3692, Madhya Pradesh 3046, Maharashtra 2911, Haryana 1787, West Bengal 1112 and the capital city Delhi, has 1212 rape victims.
