3 men threaten to slash her son’s throat, rape Odisha woman in Tirupur: Police

Chennai: Three workers, including a minor, from Bihar were arrested in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur on Wednesday for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman at knifepoint after tieing up her husband and threatening to slash her child’s throat, police said.

This family of three from Odisha met the accused near the Tiruppur railway station on February 17, when they were reportedly contemplating returning to Odisha due to dissatisfaction with their jobs in the local garment manufacturing units, said Yadav Girish, the superintendent of police (SP) in Tirupur district.

“The accused lured the family to their room after promising them jobs at the factory they were employed at. During the night, they sexually assaulted the woman at knifepoint after tying up her husband with rope. When the woman resisted, the accused threatened to slash the child’s throat with the knife,” Girish said.

The couple filed a complaint on Tuesday evening at the Tiruppur North All-Women Police Station, following which the police arrested Mohamed Nadeem, Mohamed Danish and a 17-year-old.

The woman was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Tiruppur, Girish said.

This comes a day after seven college students were arrested for allegedly gang raping a 17-year-old girl in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The incident has sparked widespread outrage across the state.

The opposition party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), took to the streets on Tuesday to protest against the rise in sexual offences in schools and colleges.

“There is not a single day without sexual violence against women in Tamil Nadu. When will the police and officials realise that their primary role is to prevent such offences instead of boasting about arrests?” said Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder Dr S Ramadoss in a statement.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and state law minister Sevugan Regupathy said, “Survivors now feel confident to report these crimes under our administration, unlike during the previous AIADMK regime. Back then, survivors of sexual abuse in Pollachi were afraid to file complaints, and the FIR was only registered two weeks later.”

In December, a woman student was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus in Chennai. Two weeks ago, three teachers in Krishnagiri were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student. In Salem, three Class XI boys have been arrested for the alleged sexual assault and abuse of their junior on campus. Last week, three minor boys and an 18-year-old youth were arrested in Pollachi for sexually assaulting two minor girls and a boy on multiple occasions and filming the acts on mobile phones.