The Coimbatore City Police have taken a significant step forward in a harrowing case of sexual assault, filing a comprehensive chargesheet before the Additional Mahila Court on Monday. The document pertains to the alleged gang rape of a college woman that occurred on the night of November 2.
Details of the Chargesheet and the Case
The chargesheet, submitted electronically, is a substantial document running over 40 pages and naming 80 witnesses. It also lists approximately 30 pieces of material evidence collected during the investigation. According to a police officer, while the potency test reports for the three suspects are still awaited, the chargesheet was prepared based on the sequence of events and the statements recorded from the survivor and the arrested accused.
The incident took place in an isolated area on the premises of the Government Polytechnic College. The accused, identified as T Karuppusamy alias Satheesh (30), his brother T Kaleeswaran alias Karthik (21)—both from Singampunari in Sivaganga district—and M Guna alias Thavasi (20) from Madurai district, are alleged to have gang-raped the woman after assaulting her boyfriend.
The police have invoked multiple sections of the new Bharata Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act against the accused. The case trial is expected to be transferred to the District Mahila Court shortly.
Murder Allegations Surface
In a disturbing twist, the three accused are now also under scrutiny for their alleged involvement in a separate murder case on the same day, November 2. The Kovilpalayam police in Coimbatore district are planning to seek their custody in connection with the death of M Devaraj (55), a herder from Kurumbapalayam.
Devaraj had gone to tend his goats in the Serayampalayam-Vellanaipatti area on November 2 and did not return. His wife, D Lakshmi, filed a missing person complaint with the Annur police on November 5. His body was discovered at Serayampalayam on November 6.
Confession Links Accused to Homicide
During a one-day police custody related to the rape case, the trio allegedly confessed to assaulting a man at Serayampalayam on November 2, which led to his death. Police sources state that the accused claimed they were drinking in an isolated spot when Devaraj approached them with a liquor bottle. An altercation ensued after he questioned their presence, leading the trio to assault him before fleeing the scene.
This development adds a grave new dimension to the case, indicating a violent spree by the accused on that fateful day. The police are now investigating the murder allegations alongside the already serious charges of gang rape.
