Coimbatore: In yet another horrific sexual assault case that has sent shockwaves across Tamil Nadu, a 20-year-old student was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three men near Coimbatore International Airport on the night of November 2, 2025. The brazen attack, which unfolded in a deserted area known as a hotspot for anti-social elements, has reignited fierce criticism of the state’s crumbling law and order under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin, who also holds the home portfolio.
The victim, a student at a private college in Coimbatore, was reportedly with her boyfriend in their parked car along a mud road linking Brindhavan Nagar and SIHS Colony around 10 PM. According to police sources, the couple was suddenly ambushed by three unidentified assailants, later identified as daily wage labourers from nearby localities, who smashed the car’s window with a sickle, dragged the woman out at knifepoint, and severely assaulted her boyfriend with a machete, leaving him unconscious. The perpetrators then fled with the victim to a nearby secluded spot, where they subjected her to a brutal gang rape, heightening the terror of what police described as a “premeditated crime” in an area plagued by substance abuse and illicit gatherings.
Regaining consciousness mere minutes after the assault, the boyfriend dialled the emergency control room, alerting authorities within 15 minutes of the incident. Responding swiftly, police teams rushed the traumatized survivor and her injured partner to a nearby government hospital for medical examination and treatment. An FIR was registered at the Singanallur All Women Police Station based on the boyfriend’s detailed complaint.
In a dramatic turn of events early Tuesday morning, November 3, 2025, Coimbatore City Police conducted intensive vehicle checks and raids in migrant labour clusters around the airport vicinity, leading to the arrest of the three prime suspects. Identified as Karupaswamy, Kaliswaram, and Samusi, all local daily wage labourers with prior criminal records including petty theft and assault. Reportedly, the trio attempted to evade capture by attacking a pursuing officer with sharp weapons during a high-speed chase. In self-defence, police fired warning shots before targeting below the knee, wounding Kaliswaram in the leg. The suspects were overpowered and are currently under medical care at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, with custody remanded for interrogation.
BJP Tamil Nadu questioned the silence of DMK leadership including CM Stalin, Dy CM and MP Kanimozhi on the gangrape incident.
கோவை விமான நிலையத்தின் பின்புறம் கல்லூரி மாணவி ஒருவர் மர்ம கும்பலால் கூட்டுப் பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை செய்யப்பட்டு 24 மணிநேரத்திற்கும் மேல் ஆனது.
இரும்புக்கரம் துருபிடித்த முதல்வர் திரு. @mkstalin அவர்களும், தூங்கிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் துணை முதல்வர் திரு. @udhaystalin அவர்களும்,… pic.twitter.com/GWVJ5xv65u
— BJP Tamilnadu (@BJP4TamilNadu) November 4, 2025
This incident bears an eerie resemblance to the Anna University sexual assault case earlier this year, where a female student was raped on campus amid allegations of police reluctance to file a complaint due to institutional pressure.
2.11.2025 அன்று இரவில், கோவை விமான நிலையத்தின் பின்புறம் நண்பர்களுடன் பேசிக் கொண்டிருந்த கல்லூரி மாணவியை, மூன்று இளைஞர்கள் தாக்கி கடத்திச் சென்று பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை செய்த நிலையில், வன்கொடுமைக்குப் பிறகு பாதிப்புக்குள்ளான மாணவியை தனியார் கல்லூரி பின்புறம் தூக்கி எறிந்துவிட்டு…
— Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) November 3, 2025
Yet, the case underscores a disturbing pattern of escalating sexual violence in Tamil Nadu. Activists and opposition leaders, including AIADMK spokespersons, have slammed CM Stalin’s administration, accusing it of turning the state unsafe for women despite his boasts of Tamil Nadu as a “role model” for governance.
Earlier reports observed a surge in assaults on women and girls, perpetrated not just by strangers but by pedagogues, peers, and even juveniles targeting victims as young as two to five years old—prompting calls for stringent reforms in the Home Department under Stalin’s direct oversight.
