College student gang-raped near Chennai; 5 arrested

CHENNAI: A 19-year-old college girl was allegedly gang-raped at knifepoint by five youths, after attacking her male friend at an isolated spot along Kancheepuram- Puducherry road, near Chennai on Thursday.

Kancheepuram Police have arrested five persons in connection with the incident. The victim and her male friend are college mates and final-year students. The man was pursuing BBA while the girl was pursuing B.Com, police said. On Thursday, they were talking at an isolated place belonging to a private school off the highway when a gang rounded them up and threatened them with weapons.

The gang took turns and raped the woman at knifepoint after attacking the man. The incident happened between 6 pm and 7 pm. On reaching home, the boy shared about the incident with his uncle after which a complaint was filed with Kancheepuram Taluk police station.

Preliminary investigations with the boy revealed that the perpetrators were wearing face masks, but the name of one among the gang, Vimal was called out. Based on the input, a special team started combing villages near the crime spot and when they went to Vippedu village, a youth named Vimal Kumar took to his heels on seeing the police. He was rounded up. Based on the inputs provided by Vimal Kumar (25), police arrested Manikandan, 22, of Seralimedu colony, Sivakumar, (20), Vignesh (22) and Thennarasu (23) of Vippedu in Kancheepuram district.

Investigations are underway with the arrested persons at an undisclosed spot, police sources said. Meanwhile, Senior police officials met the girl's family and convinced them to come forward with a complaint. The girl was admitted to a hospital for medical check-up and further counseling.

Preliminary investigations revealed that two accused were consuming liquor at a real estate plot, a few metres from where the students were talking and on seeing them alone, they called three others and the group carried out the heinous act. Further investigations are on.