Coimbatore gang rape case: convicted men carried spare clothes to change attire

Investigation into the gang rape of a 20-year-old college student near Coimbatore airport on the intervening night of November 2 and 3 2025 revealed that the three men convicted in the case had strange habits.

The trio, T. Karuppasamy alias Satheesh, 30, his brother T. Kaleeswaran alias Karthik, 21, and M. Guna alias Thavasi, 20, carried spare clothes with them most of the time, according to the police.

“They used to steal clothes that are hung outside houses for drying. They would keep a shirt inside the ones they wear as a replacement for a change in the attire, in the event of committing an offence. They would discard these clothes at regular intervals,” said a police officer.

According to the police, after the sexual assault on the survivor in the motor room of the sewage treatment plant of the Government Polytechnic College, one of the accused stole a pair of pants from the premises of a staff quarters and gave it to her. Another accused gave a spare shirt to her.

The police confirmed from a woman resident of the staff quarters that her clothes were missing.

Investigators also found that the accused used to walk for long distances and split into loners when needed. They had split ways while leaving Government Polytechnic College campus, after the crime in the early hours of November 3, and also after reaching Sathyamangalam, where they had gone to sell the stolen earring.

Among the trio, only Guna used mobile phone, a basic one with keypad, which was active after the gang-rape. He also carried a mobile phone stolen from herder M. Devaraj, 55, whom they had fatally assaulted at Serayampalayam within the jurisdiction of the Kovilpalayam police station, a few hours before committing the gang-rape.