Police formed seven special teams to nab the culprits

COIMBATORE: A 20-year-old postgraduate student who was in a car with her boyfriend in Coimbatore on Sunday night was abducted and gang-raped by three men. Police said the couple had parked the car at Brindhavan Nagar behind Coimbatore airport around 10.30pm on Sunday when three men came there on a moped. “They broke the windshield of the car and attacked the boyfriend with weapons. They threatened the woman and took her on their moped to a deserted spot a kilometer away, where they repeatedly raped her,” a police officer said.The injured man called the Peelamedu police who started a search around 11pm. They traced the woman around 4am. By then the attackers had fled the place, leaving behind their moped, which police said was stolen. “She has been admitted to a private hospital in the city,” the officer said.Later on Monday night, police shot at and arrested the three suspects – Sathish, Guna, and Karthik – all from Madurai district. They were daily wage labourers and were staying in a rental room in Coimbatore. The three were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Police did not share any further information.“The cameras failed to capture their faces due to the glare,” said a police source. The rape survivor hails from Madurai and was studying in Coimbatore, where she was staying in a hostel.“She is in a state of shock and her friend’s health condition is stable. We have formed seven special teams to nab the culprits,” city police commissioner A Saravana Sundar said. Police showed more than 60 photographs of people with criminal records, to identify the suspects. “She couldn’t recognize the attackers,” the officer said.AIADMK women’s wing has given a protest call against the rape and such incidents of violence against women. BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan visited the crime scene on Monday evening along with party functionaries.