The police suspect the three men accused of gang-raping a 20-year-old college student in Coimbatore on the night of November 2 murdered a herder earlier on the same day.
Their involvement is suspected in the murder of M. Devaraj, 55, a herder from Kurumbapalayam near Muthugoundenpudur, whose body was found with blunt injuries at Serayampalayam on November 6, nearly four days after he went out of contact with his family. A log, believed to have been used for the murder, was found beside the body.
Credible sources in Coimbatore City Police said the three accused, T. Karuppasamy alias Satheesh, 30, his brother T. Kaleeswaran, alias Karthik, 21, and their relative M. Guna, alias Thavasi, 20, of Madurai district, “confessed” to have assaulted a herder at Serayampalayam on November 2. The police team investigating the gang-rape had interrogated the trio in custody for a day recently.
According to the police, Devaraj’s wife and son had lodged a complaint with the Annur police on November 5, stating he was not reachable since 10 p.m., November 2. They said Devaraj was camping at Pachapalayam by setting up a temporary enclosure for sheep, tending to them and grazing on vacant lands. Besides his sheep, Devaraj was also taking care of 800 sheep belonging to a man from Kannampalayam.
As per the First Information Report registered by the Kovilpalayam police, based on a complaint lodged by Devaraj’s wife Lakshmi on November 6, she had last spoken to her husband over the phone at 10.30 a.m. on November 2. Devaraj’s mobile was switched off when she tried to reach him later at 10 p.m., after which the family could not contact him.
“As per the statement of the gang-rape case accused, Devaraj came to the deserted area at Serayampalayam with a bottle of liquor on November 2, when they were consuming liquor there. An altercation took place after Devaraj reportedly questioned them for sitting there. They assaulted him and fled the spot, leaving him unconscious,” said a police officer.
Since the body was intact on November 6, the police also suspect Devaraj could have died several hours after the assault, without being attended by anyone.
The Coimbatore District Police are planning to seek the custody of the three accused to investigate further into the murder.
Published – December 01, 2025 10:16 pm IST
