Coimbatore Gang Rape Case: 3 Accused Arrested After Shoot Out To Be Remanded Later Today, Says CoP
According to police, the suspects were holed up in a hideout in Thudiyalur and were armed when the arrest team moved in Monday night.
Published : November 4, 2025 at 8:29 AM IST
|Updated : November 4, 2025 at 11:34 AM IST
Coimbatore: Police on Monday night nabbed three persons allegedly involved in the Sunday night gang rape of a college student near Coimbatore International Airport in Peelamedu of Tamil Nadu, following a brief encounter.
All three have sustained bullet injuries and are currently under treatment at a government hospital in the City under tight security, officials said.
Police stated they had to open fire as the suspects, armed with sickle and other weapons, attacked them first when they reached the hideout to arrest them.
"They were holding on to their arms and were not willing to surrender. They started attacking the cops, and one of our team members were injured. This left us no option than opening fire to protect our team," said a senior police official who is privy to the operation.
Police identified the suspects as Guna alias Thavasi, Satish alias Karuppasamy, and Karthik alias Kaleeswaran. The suspects were overpowered after the shootout and moved to Coimbatore Government Hospital for treatment.
Preliminary investigation revealed that all three hail from Sivaganga district from southern Tamil Nadu. The three were staying in a rented a house near Irugur which is in the eastern side of the district and is part of Sulur taluk. The trio was working in a construction firm there.
"With regard to the incident near the Coimbatore airport, based on the complaint, we have formed seven teams. We could narrow in three accused. All the three accused have been secured. They have been previous offenders also. Murder cases are pending against them," Commissioner of Police Coimbatore City, A Saravana Sundar told ETV Bharat.
The other cases they have involved include "simple theft, and hurt cases pending against them," the official said, adding that "All the three will be remanded (later) today(Tuesday)."
He also assured that "the case will be taken to a logical conclusion by filing the final report."
With no CCTV cameras at the scene, police reviewed footage from nearby roads, eventually identifying the three suspects fleeing the area. The accused were traced to a hideout near Vellakinaru Pattatharasiyamman Temple in Thudiyalur of Coimbatore.
When asked how they were able to identity the location of the suspects, the CoP said they "utiilised various scientific methods including CCTV surveillance." We also received "a secret confidential information" that gave away the location of the accused, he added.
Police said Karuppasamy and Kaleeswaran are siblings, with several criminal cases pending against them, including charges of murder, robbery, assault and sandalwood smuggling. Guna is a first time offender. A fresh case has been registered against all three under charges of gang rape, robbery, theft and attempt to murder.
Sources said Peelamedu Inspector Arjun and Saravanampatti Inspector Gnanasekaran opened fire and shot the fleeing suspects in the legs. The injured policeman was identified as constable Chandrashekar. He was injured in his left hand.
With regard to the incident near the Coimbatore airport, based on the compaint, we have formed seven teams. We could narrow in three accused. All the three accused have been secured. They have been previous offenders also. Murder cases are pending against them.
On Sunday (November 2), the rape survivor was with her male friend in a car parked behind the international airport near Peelamedu, at around 10.30 pm. The PG student and her friend saw a trio approaching them. The duo sensed something amiss with the trio and attempted to getaway with their car. The trio signaled the car to stop and when the car didn't, they used the iron rod and sickle to smash the car's windshield and window. They then attacked the male on his head and hand with a sickle. As he fell unconscious, the assailants dragged the girl student away from the car. Then the accused took turns to rape her before fleeing the spot. After regaining consciousness at around 2 AM, the injured youth alerted police and was rescued. The police rescue team spotted the girl in a bush and rushed her to a hospital for treatment. Both are under treatment. Peelamedu Police have registered a case of gangrape against the trio involved.
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