India’s deepening crisis of women’s safety came into grim focus again after a 19-year-old college student was brutally sexually assaulted near Coimbatore airport, exposing the alarming deterioration of law and order under in Tamil Nadu and rest of India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the horrific incident occurred on November 2 when three men — identified as Thavasi, Karthik, and Kaliswaran — attacked the victim and her male friend, chasing the latter away before sexually assaulting the girl at a secluded spot. The attack triggered widespread outrage across the state.
Police said the accused were arrested after an encounter in which all three sustained bullet injuries to their legs. Seven special teams were formed to track them down following massive public anger. Both the victim and her friend remain hospitalised.
The brutal assault has sent shock waves through Tamil Nadu, with opposition parties and civil society denouncing the DMK government’s failure to ensure basic safety for women. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the incident reflected the complete breakdown of women’s security under Chief Minister MK Stalin’s rule, contrasting it with the “safe environment” under the previous AIADMK regime.
